The Arrangement
by akumbricwitch
Summary: Fiyero and Galinda had broken up, and Crope suggested an outrageous arrangement, which ultimately involves Elphaba. Fiyeraba.
1. Chapter 1

"So there you are," Elphaba said as she entered the room.

The four boys looked up, with only one of them looking happy to see her.

"Elphie!" Boq called her, his eyes lighting up. "Save me!" Fiyero put a hand on his arm, stopping him.

"No, we've agreed that we won't stop until we have finished fifty rounds," the Vinkun prince said.

"But we're only at the fifteenth round!" Boq almost wailed. "And look at the time!"

"I'm glad you are aware of the time, Boq." The green girl tapped at her watch. "Milla has been waiting for you for almost thirty minutes."

Boq looked at the guys around him.

"No," Fiyero took a swig from the bottle of wine and replied without looking at the Munchkin.

"It's a dinner date, Boq. Not supper." She tapped her foot impatiently.

Tibbett threw his card onto the pile in the middle and lifted his bottle of wine, putting it immediately when he realised that it was empty. "Your turn," he told Crope. "Elphie, can you get me another bottle?" he gestured to the crate on the table.

She walked over to the table and took out a bottle, opening it easily with the corkscrew. But instead of passing it to Tibett's outstretched hands, she leaned against the table and drank from the bottle herself.

"This is good," was her comment before she took another swig.

"Thank you," Fiyero replied without looking up from his cards. "This is from one of the finest vineyards in Vinkus."

"Can we stop playing if I declare myself the loser?" Boq asked hopefully.

"No," the other three players chorused.

"I really have to go."

"He does," Elphaba vouched for him. "Milla is going to call Missing Persons if he does not turn up soon."

"We can't play with just three players," Crope explained.

"Elphie can replace me," Boq suggested as he scrambled quickly to his knees.

"I don't play with girls," Fiyero said.

"Because you always lost to them?" She asked, chuckling.

"Because sometimes they'll try to win by flirting or by throwing lady tantrums," he clarified.

Elphaba took over Boq's cards without a sound and sat down.

"You're the best, Elphie," the Munchkin gave her a thumbs up as he rushed out of the room, late for his date with his girlfriend.

"You don't have to worry then, because I don't flirt, and I don't throw tantrums. And guess what? Boq is gone, so you have no choice but to play with me."

The prince mumbled something as he stood up. For a moment, Elphaba thought that he was really going to call it a day, but he went over to the table and brought the crate of wine over. He helped himself with the last bottle, drinking half of it before he continued with the game.

"You really should stop," Tibbett said, "you've drunk far too much."

Elphaba looked at Tibbett sharply, the boy mouthing a three-syllabus word. Ga-lin-da.

"This is good wine," Fiyero said before he reached for it again, only to find himself grasping empty air. He looked at Elphaba, who had taken his bottle, her own bottle at her other side.

"Why don't we stop playing?" she suggested. Fiyero attempted to snatch his wine back, but the girl held it away from him before drinking from it herself.

"Sorry, the bottle is contaminated now," she said.

"With what?"

"With _green_," she drawled.

Fiyero chuckled. "Oz, you really think I am stupid, don't you?"

"No," Elphaba said as she took another swig from the bottle. "But I do feel a bit feverish though. Maybe I am coming down with something." She finished the bottle.

"Can one of you make sure that he doesn't go Shiz Town or anywhere with alcohol? He really had too much."

The two other boys nodded.

"He won't go to Town, though. We went yesterday. The girls either avoided him or looked at him as if he was fresh meat. It was terrible."

The Vinkun prince rested his head on Crope's shoulder and draped an arm around him as he came up from behind. "Terrible," he parroted, his eyes partially closed.

Elphaba kind of understood. The most popular boy and girl in Shiz had broken up, and the girls who were close friends with Galinda would avoid him, while those were not would think that Fiyero would be looking for another girlfriend and would start planning for their wedding. She seemed to be the only exception. She was Galinda's friend, but she was Fiyero's friend too.

"There was no more of that fun, harmless flirting," Tibbett summed up yesterday's atmosphere.

"He is now living the life of a monk, and it's driving him crazy. No flirting, no sex." Crope said with a sigh. "And we can't help since we are not girls. He doesn't swing our way. He's having a severe case of blue balls."

Elphaba rolled her eyes at the exaggeration.

"He misses Galinda. They shouldn't have broken up." She told the boys.

"Not Galinda," the boy who was half asleep on Crope's shoulder replied.

"See? His ears pricked up the moment he heard her name."

"I'm awake." He opened his eyes. "I'm not asleep. I'm just resting."

"We should go somewhere for dinner." Tibbett suggested. "You know that restaurant with the pretty girls who will always smile at you? Maybe one of them will flirt with you. Or maybe let you wait for her shift to end."

"He just needs to get back with Galinda." Elphaba counter proposed.

Crope snapped his fingers. "I know what! You need a FwB."

"A what bee?" Tibbett asked.

"A FwB. Friends with benefits. I've read it in some magazine. An arrangement between two persons that they can flirt and have sex with no strings attached. It's purely physical, there're no emotions involved. They are free to date other people, but while they are single, they don't have to remain celibate."

"Oh yes," Tibbett clapped his hands together. "He really does need such an arrangement."

* * *

Fiyero opened his eyes. It was morning, and the sun was shining in through the opened windows.

"Good morning." He heard a female voice. He looked up, squinting his eyes at the brightness. It took him a while before he could decipher the girl before him, though the green should have been a dead giveaway.

"Elphaba?"

"Rise and shine."

He sat up on the bed, wincing at the slight hangover. The headache was not debilitating, but Fiyero rarely had hangovers. His body was made for drinking.

"It's morning."

"I can see that. What happened last night?" he asked.

"You mean you don't remember?" Her voice softened.

He looked at her. She was still wearing the same dress that she wore last night, but she had let down her hair. It was long, silky straight and black like midnight. The hair framed her face, making her look younger and more feminine as usual.

"You drank too much. We went for dinner, and when we came back, you pulled me to your bed and …" she sniffed.

"And?" his eyes widened.

"And nothing happened!" Elphaba slapped her thigh and cackled. "Fiyero, nothing happened. You should have seen your face just now. You were so scared that something happened last night. I was right, you still care about Galinda. Why don't you patch up with her?"

Fiyero smacked his head. "Oz, don't you get it. It's over between us. It's over between Galinda and me. We will never get back together again."

"But you looked so scared just now when you thought that you had betrayed her," Elphaba said, laughing. Fiyero nearly rolled his eyes at the prank that she had pulled on him. The gears in his mind started to work.

She smiled as she started to pull her hair into a ponytail. "Nothing happened. I stayed back because you looked terrible last night. I just want to make sure that you're fine. How could anything happen between us? I'm sure you have some taste even if you're dead drunk. You're Prince Fiyero. You won't go to bed with any ugly girl."

Fiyero snatched at her hand and she dropped the ponytail that she was making. Her hair fell around her face.

"You really don't know, do you?" he asked.

"Know what?" she asked, still smiling. Fiyero dropped her hand and brushed her cheek with the back of his fingers. Her eyes widened at his touch.

"How the guys talk about you in the locker room? About your small waist, your long legs. How you always like to wear loose clothes to hide your figure. What they want to do if they had a chance to be locked in a room with you. About how they will tame you." He always tried not to eavesdrop when the guys talked about her like that, but it was hard not to. He knew that she was unaware of her exotic good looks, that she grew up thinking that she was hideous, but she was his friend, and he tried his best not to think of her that way. He had started the conversation wanting to scare her the same way she had tried to scare him earlier, a prank like what she did to him earlier, but as he took a step closer, he remembered the way the guys talked, the way they discussed her breasts and hips, the way his eyes lingered a bit longer on her the next time they met.

"You know." He brushed a strand of hair away from her face. "Maybe Crope was right. Maybe I need a FWB. No strings attached. And I know that you can be trusted not to babble. What do you think?"

It started off as a prank, but he felt himself reacting to her closeness, the way her breathing emphasised her breasts that was hidden under her loose dress, her wide eyes. He leaned closer, his eyes going to her lips.

She took a step back.

"Ha!" Fiyero laughed, but he could hear his heart pumping wildly inside. Just one more second, and he would have kissed her.

"Scare you, didn't I?" he put in a grin.

"Fiyero." Elphaba rolled her eyes. "For Oz's sake!"

"Got you! That will teach you a lesson. Never try to prank me again."

Elphaba moved to the door. "I wasn't trying to prank you. I just want you to know that you should patch up with Galinda because you are still in love with her."

He opened the door for her. "One last time. It's over between Galinda and I."

"Well, then maybe you really should have one of those arrangements, instead of drinking so much."

"With you?" He grinned at her again.

"With some other girl of course."

"Only you," he said. "And by the way, those locker talks are real."

Elphaba huffed. "Telling lies will make your nose grow longer, Fiyero."

She had just left Fiyero's dormitory when she heard her name being called.

"Fabala!"

It was Nessarose. She pushed her wheelchair over, her face red. She spoke before Elphaba could greet her a good morning.

"Did you just come out from Fiyero's bedroom? How could you?"

"What?"

"How could you spend the night in a boy's room?"

"How could I what?"

"Did you spend the night in his room?"

"Yes, but I was just trying to make sure that he was alright."

"Of course he is alright now. You just spent the night in his room. To think that father taught you so much about keeping yourself pure and yet you hold such loose morals? How are you going to face the Unamed God?"

"What? You actually think that I have… " Elphaba nearly smacked her hand to her head. "I didn't, Nessa. I was there to take care of him because he was drunk. You can ask Crope and Tibbett, we all went for dinner together."

"Then why is your hair all let down? Why are you the one who stay in his room? Why can't they do it? Do you know what is this going to do to your reputation? To our reputation? What is Father going to say when he heard about this?"

"So now you've said it. You're just worried about your reputation, and Father's."

"He's the Governor of Munchkinland, Fabala. Why can't you think for him? How is he going to face the people when words got around that you have been sleeping around?"

"What? Just moments ago I gave my body to Fiyero, and now I have been sleeping around? You're really imaginative, Nessa."

"Don't you dare change the topic, Fabala."

"You know what? You're right. I'm a harlot. And I'm a disappointment to Father." She turned away without another word and left.

Elphaba wanted to tear her hair out in frustration. Why must Nessa jump into conclusions? Why couldn't she understand. She stomped across the building, her stance so aggressive that the few people who saw her jumped out of her way. She always tried to keep her mouth shut, to stay out of trouble, for Nessa and her father's sake, but it seemed that no matter how hard she tried, they always imagined the worst of her. Oz, she was sick of pretending to be a nice little mouse, of being a good girl anymore.

She went up the steps two at a time and opened the door without knocking, slamming it shut behind her. Fiyero jumped at the sound. He was in the midst of changing, and the prince was clad only in a pair of boxers.

"Good, you're ready," Elphaba said, still mad. She reached behind her, fumbling with the buttons of her dress.

"Elphaba?" Fiyero was confused.

"So this arrangement," Elphaba asked as she pulled her dress over her head, revealing her chemise and underwear. "How does it work?"

* * *

Notes: Should I continue with this story? The rating will increase. ;)


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"How does _what_ work?" the prince asked, dumbfounded.

"The arrangement."

"The - ?" it took him a while to understand what she was referring to. Their earlier conversation. The prank that he had played on her.

Fiyero looked at her. Her top was cut low, a style that she bought most probably not because it fitted her or because she liked to wear something sexy inside but because it was on sale. He could see her cleavage, the fabric clinging onto her breasts and emphasizing their roundness. The chemise barely covered her thighs, showing her long, slim green legs.

The prince nearly forgot how to breathe.

He took a deep breath and sat on his bed, before putting his pillow on his lap. He looked stupid, but it was better than to let her see what was happening underneath. His eyes went to her again, taking her in, the little clothes that hid nothing much.

"You – ah – you took off your dress," he said stupidly.

"I've been labelled a harlot anyway, so why not live up to the name?"

"A harlot? Who said that?"

She waved her arms around, her action pulling the hem of the chemise even higher, revealing her panties. Fiyero gulped. "It does not matter."

She took a step forward, and Fiyero raised a hand and she stopped. Oz, he could feel his bodily reaction under the pillow and could not guarantee what would happen if she was within reach.

"Oh yes, the ugly green bean," she misunderstood his actions. "I guess there's one other place to go."

For a moment, his one-track mind refused to work, until he realized which was the other place she was referring to. The boys' locker room. It was Saturday, and some of the sports activities would have just ended at this hour. The locker room would be filled with boys, all sweaty and rowdy. And he could not imagine what would happen if the nearly naked Elphaba turned up.

"Wait," he called out just as the green girl opened the door, still without her dress. With a push of his palm, he pushed the door shut, with Elphaba was caught between him and the door. She took a step backwards, her back pressed against his front and froze when she felt his erection pressing against her back. He took a step back, and she spun around, staring him in the eye before her eyes went down. His boxers were not doing a good job of hiding anything.

Her hand came out and paused in mid-air. He expected her to slap him, to call him a pervert, but her hand went down and she touched him _there_, through his boxers. He was surprised by her boldness, but he caught her hand.

"Don't tease me," he asked softly. Her eyes widened for a moment and then she cackled, her anger dissipating. And he joined in, chuckling softly.

"Don't go to the boys' locker room," he said when they had finished laughing. "I mean, I'm here. And I'm obviously horny. And as you can see, I like what I see here. If you are really looking for sex, don't go to the boys' locker room. They'll be rough. I mean, I can be rough if you want to. But I can be very gentle too. And I don't share. And I won't tell. And I think I got a better body than every single one of them."

Elphaba laughed at his boastful sentence.

"Do it because you want it. Because you are lusting after my body." He pointed to himself, and she laughed again. "Not because you are angry over someone saying something brainless."

"Adonis," Fiyero pointed at his chest.

She smiled, the corners of her lips turning up slightly. He smiled back at her, and she bit her lower lip for a moment, thinking, before she put her hand on his chest, touching his tattoos before sliding down and touching his pierced nipple.

"So how do we go about it?" she asked.

"Are you sure?" he asked. "Sometimes it is very easy for a woman to form an emotional attachment with the person whom they have sex with, and I don't think I am ready for that."

She shook her head. "I don't flirt. I don't throw tantrums." She repeated the words that she said the night before. "And I don't form emotional attachments."

Fiyero thought for a while before he tilted his head and kissed her. His first few kisses were slow, gentle, and he felt her hand slowly went to his biceps before he kissed harder. He pushed her up against the door as he slipped his tongue into her mouth and heard her soft moan as a hand went to the back of his neck. He pressed his body against hers and moved his mouth to her neck, sucking on the skin there before going back to her lips. His hand went to her breast, kneading it gently before he rolled her nipple between his fingers until it hardened. His other hand went to her waist, slipping under the chemise to her back, touching her bare skin. Elphaba threw her head back, and he sucked on her neck again, his hand pulling the flimsy strap of her chemise down to expose a breast before his mouth went there, giving her an open-mouthed kiss on the underside of her breast before sucking on her already hard nipple.

"Oh," Elphaba let out a moan and she pressed his head onto her breast. She covered her mouth with her other hand, embarrassed by the sound that she had just made.

"Relax," Fiyero told her. "This room is soundproof. I renovated it after moving in. And you'll feel better when you let yourself go. And I love when a woman can vocalize how she feels."

She laughed again, which turned into another moan as he switched his focus to her other breast. This time, he flicked his tongue on her nipple through the fabric. He could see her hardened peak through the fabric, and he cupped her breast before biting gently on her nipple. She moaned again, louder when she realized that she did not have to restrain herself.

Fiyero pulled her toward the bed and sat on the bed before he pulled her onto his lap. One of her breasts was exposed, and now he tugged at the strap on the other side until her chemise was around her waist, both breasts freed. He let her lean forward, and as she tried to suck on the skin of his neck, he kneaded and squeezed her breasts alternatively, and pinched her nipples until her nails were racking down his back. She threw her head back again, and he took the hint and went to her jaw and neck again, a hand supporting her on her back while his other hand went down between her legs, feeling the wetness through her panties.

His member throbbed, aching for her.

"Elphaba," he gasped. It was a while before she opened her eyes, and he could see the wildness in her eyes. He knew that he could do whatever he wanted, but he had to ask.

"Elphaba, are you – have you ever been with a man? Or a woman?" He doubted so, but he wanted to be sure.

She did not answer, but her face turned red at the suggestion, and he knew.

He touched her face gently with his fingers.

"There's nothing to be ashamed of. Having multiple lovers is not something to be proud of. I want to know because – sometimes, a woman's first time can be painful."

"I'm not afraid of pain."

"That doesn't mean that you have to feel it. Pain during sex can be good, but some pain is unnecessary."

He went to her neck again, sucking at the skin between her neck and shoulder before kissing on her already swollen lips, feeling her breath hitched before she relaxed. She had been straddling him, and he put his hands on her thighs, parting her legs wide. A hand went between her legs, touching her through her panties, rubbing against her clit. She let out a gasp, and he kissed her deeply before moving down to her breasts again. He felt her grinding herself against his fingers, and he rubbed harder, faster, letting her whimpering as she felt herself rising to her desires. His fingers pushed the thin piece of fabric aside, touching her bare wet clit, rubbing circles with two fingers. Elphaba heaved, pushing her breast into his mouth and he sucked on her nipple, his fingers working between her legs, slick with her desire. He felt her thighs quivering, and he switched to her other breast, his fingers working faster. He slipped his hand lower, teasing her entrance with a finger, feeling the shiver that ran through her body.

"Oz," she muttered as she shivered again, as she subconsciously opened her legs wider. Fiyero alternated between rubbing her clit and touching her lower, feeling the way her shivers grew more intense with each passing moment. He dipped a finger lightly into her, touching her nerves. Elphaba reached below her, wanting to guide his finger deeper, but he moved his hand away.

"Not today," he whispered into her ear. Her hand went to his cock, stroking it through his boxers, and Fiyero nearly could not contain himself. He took her hand away, placing it on his shoulder. His clever fingers worked on her and she closed her eyes again, gasping as another round of shivers coursed through her body. He continued to touch her between her legs, kissed her on her neck and breasts, feeling her shaking, and then she shuddered uncontrollably, and Fiyero knew that she had fallen over the edge. She leaned against him, her face resting on his shoulder, Fiyero's arm around her. He kissed her jaws again after a while, his fingers touching her through her soaking wet panties again, and then without it, drawing light circles against her sensitive nerves.

She whimpered softly, her eyes still closed.

He increased his pressure, feeling her subconsciously grind herself against his fingers, the way her breathing quickened. She moaned as he changed his strokes, as he changed the pressure of his touches. His other hand went to her back, supporting her as he sucked on her breasts again, leaving a hickey. His fingers moved faster, harder, each stroke accompanied by her soft moan. She dug her nails into his skin and came again. And again.

He leaned back, falling onto the bed and pulled her down with him. Her body was damp with sweat and slick with her wetness. But there was a smile on her face. With her eyes still closed, her hand reached for him, touching his stomach before moving on to his still swollen manhood, stroking it.

He moved her hand away gently. She opened her eyes slightly, confusion written all over her face.

"But – "

He shook his head.

"I'm tired, and I believe you are tired too." He drew circles on her shoulder, and she shivered as she recalled the same movements on her lady parts. He wanted her to finish him off, but he was afraid that he would not be able to control himself once she started. He did not want her first time to be painful. He would take care of his needs when she was gone, imagining that it was her hands on him.

"I guess I didn't disappoint you?" he asked teasingly, and she blushed. "I want you to come back again. Willingly. Eagerly." She chuckled at the words.

His eyes went from her face to her breasts that were pressed against his chest, glistering with her sweat and his saliva.

They had a project that they were working on together, grouped by the teacher because both their first names started with the letter T. They usually worked in the library or café, but sometimes they would work in his room too. He supposed they would have to make changes to these arrangements so that they could spend more time in his room without raising suspicions. His mind started to work, thinking of the wine that he would be buying for her for their next time, how he would surprise her.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"We need to get more information on the last five years of the Great Drought. This is not enough to justify why the new laws were passed." Elphaba said, looking at the papers scattered all over the table.

"I'll get it from the library," Fiyero promised as he looked at his textbook.

"What's this?" she asked, pointing at the notes on one of the papers. Fiyero was behind her, and he looked over her shoulder, a hand on the table, another on the back of her chair as he supported himself. He was wearing the same fragrance that he had worn that day, and the scent wafted past her, reminding her of the way he had touched her the last time she was in this same room, his very clever hands between her legs.

She wiggled her hips uncomfortably and crossed her legs.

"This is just something I heard from my grandfather when he was still alive. He mentioned that the Vinkuns helped the Munchkins during the drought," he said, his voice husky. His mouth was next to her ear, and his breath sent shivers down her spine.

"Are you feeling cold?" he asked.

"No," she replied quickly as she uncrossed her legs and crossed them again.

Oz, they should not have worked on the project in his room. But they only found out that the café where they usually went to was closed for renovation when they went over, and then it started to rain when they were on their way to the library, and his room was the nearest place they could dash to.

Did he know the effect that he had on her, how much her mind had strayed for the past week? Her eyes strayed to his broad shoulders, his lips, his fingers, remembering how he had touched her and kissed her. Her eyes lingered on his chest, remembering the tattoos and the piercings that she had seen. She heard his voice in her sleep, the words he spoke when he asked her if she had any experience, the way he teased her.

"Do you need something to warm yourself up?" he asked.

Something? Like a warm body? A pair of strong arms? A dozen kisses? Caresses that also made her moan shamelessly?

Definitely.

"What do you have?" her mouth went dry.

"Wine or hot chocolate?"

She laughed at how extreme his choices were.

"Hot chocolate." She decided to play safe. Perhaps the sweet beverage would put her mind off things.

He made a cup of hot chocolate, adding milk just the way she liked it. As she drank her drink, he poured himself a strong drink.

"You don't drink chocolate?"

"Hardly."

"Then why did you have it in your room?"

"For teetotallers. For girls whom I don't trust will behave when they're around alcohol."

"Like me," she challenged him.

"I did give you the option, didn't I?" he grinned.

"So you trust me."

He leaned forward. "What do you think?" he asked as his eyes went to her lips.

"I'm still waiting for you to misbehave," he told her and took another sip of the drink.

Elphaba watched the gold liquid flowed into his mouth, at his oh-so-kissable lips. She remembered the way those lips traced the curves of her body.

"Wait." Before her rational mind could dissuade her, she leaned towards him, capturing his mouth with hers. She slipped her tongue in and tasted the wine that was still in his mouth. That little alcohol should not have any effect on her, but she felt heady, and she went for another kiss again, her tongue searching for his.

"Have you been practising with other partners?" he asked, pretending to be horrified. She laughed and he kissed her back. He cupped her face, climbing onto the couch, his thighs on either side of her. They continued kissing, their hands on each other, touching through fabric, undoing buttons. Elphaba pulled off his shirt, and her mouth fell on his tanned skin and tattoos. She hardly had any chance to touch him the last round, and she was not going to miss the chance this time. She pressed her mouth to his nipple, her tongue flicking the ring, and Fiyero let out an almost inaudible moan.

"Oz, Elphaba. Are you sure you don't have any experience before?" She laughed at his statement, and then he was pushing her back until she was leaning against the back of the couch. His lips went to her neck, sucking on the skin there as his hand moved inside her unbuttoned Shiz shirt, cupping her breast before he thumbed her nipple through her chemise. Her hands went to his back, tracing the curves of his muscles.

His hands busied themselves, undoing more buttons before he pushed back her shirt, revealing her chemise.

"A different one this time?" he asked. The top that she wore today had a more conservative cut, and Fiyero frowned at the lack of cleavage.

"Well, I did wear the previous chemise during our last project meeting, but you weren't interested," she snapped back.

"Good Oz, I never said that I was not interested." He pressed his lips to the shell of her ear, sending a delicious shiver down her spine. "I have told you before. I want you to come willingly, eagerly." His hand pushed up her skirt, touching her thigh, and Elphaba felt the tingles on her skin. She parted her legs slightly and she felt his hand moving in until his fingers were touching the juncture of her thighs. Fiyero let his lips traced a line from her ear to her neck, feeling the way her breath hitched before he went to her ear again, biting her earlobe gently.

"So what must I do before you are willing to take off another layer, my dear project partner?" he asked, his voice all husky. He curled his fingers around her panties, pulling it aside and teased her slit, drawing circles. Elphaba moaned involuntarily and arched her hips to meet his fingers as she pulled him to him. Fiyero chuckled and he kissed her again, his fingers continued to touch her until she wondered if his couch would be stained by her arousal. Fiyero removed his hand, and she could see the glistering moist on his fingers. He brought his fingers to his mouth and licked them with his tongue, his eyes not leaving hers, and Elphaba shivered as if he was licking her clit itself.

He pulled her chemise over her head and his mouth went to her breasts, sucking gently on the underside of her breasts before his tongue twirled around her hardened peaks. The hickey that he had given her had almost faded, and he kissed it gently before he went to her neck again. His fingers went to her hair and undid her ponytail, letting her hair fall all over her shoulders. He kissed her again, deep and wet and passionate, and Elphaba did not even notice it when he lifted her and carried her to the bed.

Fiyero continued to kiss her on the bed as a hand went to her breast before going to her waist. He kissed his way down, to her collarbone, her breasts, her stomach before he removed her skirt and underwear at the same time. He parted her legs and kissed the inside of her thighs before going for her clit, and Elphaba could not help but whimper as a jolt of pleasure shot through her entire body. Her eyes fluttered closed as Fiyero continued to work on her, his mouth moving to her core while his fingers drew circles on her clit. There was so much sensation she closed her eyes and her breath got heavier. She opened her legs wider, her thighs quivering, her hands clutching the bedsheets until suddenly there was a wave that washed over her, drowning her in desire.

She felt his lips gentle on her stomach, and he kissed his way up, ending with a kiss on her lips. Her hand went to his waist, to the budge at his crotch.

"Fiyero," she asked as she opened her eyes, all breathy, "why am I all naked and you are still wearing your pants?" She could feel the tingles between her thighs, and how much she wanted to feel him inside her.

Fiyero chuckled, and he removed his pants and boxers, revealing his erection. He climbed over her again, his naked skin on hers, and he kissed her on her lips again, his hand touching her clit again, his fingers working their magic. Elphaba felt the pressure inside her growing, and she let Fiyero wrapped her legs around his hips. He teased her at the entrance before he eased himself in, and Elphaba hissed when she felt the pain. But as he began to move, there was also something like pleasure, and she felt herself relaxing when her body accommodated his girth.

Fiyero started moving inside her, slowly at first, and then he built up the momentum. His hand went back to the space between them, touching her sensitive nerves, and Elphaba felt the tingles of pleasure spreading everywhere. His hand moved in conjunction with his movements, and Elphaba could not help but moan with each thrust. He lifted her hips, and with a few thrusts, she felt the pleasure mount exponentially within her. She locked her ankles as she felt her legs began to shake and dug her fingers into his skin. Fiyero felt the increased intensity and he picked up his momentum, and all it took was his mouth on her breast before she fell over the edge. Fiyero slowed down, feeling that he was going to finish soon. He untangled her limbs and wanted to withdraw as Elphaba wrapped her legs around him again.

"Elphaba, no," he said, trying to clear his mind. "We can't risk it."

She shook her head, unable to speak, and pulled him to her for a kiss. Her hands went down to his hips, holding him as she rocked her hips against him. Fiyero pressed his face into the crook of her neck, his hand in her hair and he sighed as they came together.

"Oz," he muttered when he finally had the strength to lift himself up. "I'm sorry." He looked at the crumpled bedsheets, the bloodstains on the fabric. "Does it hurt?" he asked, his hand going to her face.

She shook her head again, still unable to speak.

He kissed her gently on her lips. "Elphaba, taking and giving pleasure is one thing. It's another when it comes to risks. It will not be fair to you if you get yourself into a delicate situation."

She shook her head again and this time she spoke.

"There's no danger, Fiyero. I can't get pregnant," she said. "I can never get pregnant."

"What?" Why?"

"I don't want to talk about it. Can we talk about something else?" she asked and she pulled him down again for another kiss.


	4. Chapter 4

Fiyero never expected that his project partner would blow up over something that was not related to their project.

Over something personal.

Like her reproduction ability.

"I don't want to talk about it!"

"Elphaba, I know that I should not be asking– "

"I'm glad you know that it is none of your business." She stood before him, nose-to-nose, arms akimbo. He considered kissing her to defuse the tension. Maybe on her nose. Maybe on her lips.

"So don't ask," she added, totally oblivious to the thoughts that were running through his head.

"But –" The news had come as a surprise to him, and he just could not comprehend how she could be so sure about something that was so vague.

"But what? Why are you so curious about my personal issue?"

"I'm not curious. Oh yes, I am curious. No, I'm sorry, I take that back." He shook his head. The word curious made him look like a nosey parker, an elderly aunt who had nothing better to do than spend her days gossiping about other people. But it was too late. The look on Elphaba's face was enough to melt stones.

"I mean, how can you be so sure?"

"Because it's my body."

"Oh, because it's your body? That's not very concrete."

"Concrete? What are you looking for? Evidence? Words carved in stone?"

"No, I don't mean that. What I mean is, how can you be sure if it is just a feeling? What if you're wrong?"

"Oh, so that's what you are so worried about. That I might be wrong and one day I will turn up at your doorstep with a swollen belly and telling you that you're the father of my child? Is that right? For Lurline's sake, you're just thinking of yourself! Don't worry, Your Royal Highness. Even if that happens, I will never admit that the baby is yours." She turned, closing her books that were sprawled all over the table. She suddenly stopped and turned to him again.

"Wait a minute. You don't have to worry about that happening. Because we are not going to have sex anymore. Ever."

She grabbed her books angrily and stomped to the door.

"Elphaba, we are not done with our project discussion yet."

"I'm done. With you."

Her hand was on the handle of his dormitory when she turned around, a smirk on her face.

"Oh by the way, if you ask Nanny she will tell you that I was born with male genitals." She watched with satisfaction as the colour drained from Fiyero's face. "Maybe that is why I can never have children. How about that?"

* * *

Elphaba's feet were hurting by the time she reached her own room; stomping all the way across campus with her boots had a way of causing that. She entered the room and saw Galinda at her study table, which of course had been converted to a vanity table the first day she moved into the room. The blonde had put all her make up on the table, and she was going through the items one by one.

"Elphie! Where have you been?"

"Just back from a project meeting with your ex-boyfriend," she said, tugging hard at her boots and then throwing it across the room as if it was her project partner.

"Oh, that's tough."

Elphaba stopped short. The mention of Fiyero would usually send Galinda into a rant, but it seemed that she was in a really good mood today.

"What are you doing?" she asked cautiously.

"Spring cleaning," Galinda replied as she squinted at her eye shadow before she dumped it into the wastepaper basket. "Our skin is delicate, and it is not good if you use makeup that has gone bad." Her actions seemed to indicate that she had a date coming up soon though. She spun the chair around. "I think this colour will look good on you." She held a pot of blush at arm's length at Elphaba's direction. The blonde looked at her table, searching for a brush. "Would you like to try it?"

Elphaba hopped on one leg to retrieve her boot and put it on quickly. Not another makeover!

"Where are you going?" Galinda asked as she approached the green girl, a brush in one hand and the blush on the other.

"I suddenly remember that I am meeting Nessa for lunch," she said as she opened the door. "Bye."

"Elphie!"

* * *

Elphaba wandered around the campus, not knowing where to go.

The truth was that there was no lunch appointment with Nessa. She had not spoken to her sister for a while, ever since the younger Thropp sister accused her of sleeping around. A few days later, Nanny had told her that her father would be at the Emerald City and had requested Nessarose to join him for a short break. He did not mention that he wanted to meet his eldest child. Madame Morrible gave permission for Nessa to leave the campus even though it was school term. The headmistress was never one who said no to power and money.

"Elphaba!" She heard her name being called. The green girl looked around and saw Tibbett and Crope under a tree. Their books were opened and scattered all over the grass; the boys were obviously not studying.

She went over to them, glad to find some suitable company. They talked about their lessons and homework, and then Tibbett suddenly asked a question.

"What's up with Fiyero recently?"

"What do you mean what's up?"

"He seems … happier."

Crope nodded. "I asked him to go to Shiz Town last weekend, but he declined, saying that he was busy with his projects. But there was something fishy about it. He was kind of smiling, glowing. He was obviously hiding something from me. It was so obvious, like a big bushy tail between his legs."

"He doesn't have to tell you everything," Elphaba replied a bit too quickly. An image appeared in her mind, not a bushy tail between his legs, but something else. She hoped she was not blushing.

"Oh, you won't understand. There's a difference between not telling something and hiding something."

"I don't see any difference."

"You're too unobservant. I'm referring to secrets. Like scandalous secrets."

"Oooo." Tibbett rubbed his hands with glee. "This is interesting."

"Come on, let's put our brains together," Crope continued. "I'm in three of his classes and his baseball team. You – ", he pointed to Tibbett, "are in his Political Science class. And you – ", he pointed to Elphaba, "are in his History class. Now is there any new girl in his life? Any new pretty classmate? Any new sexy female teacher? Any old classmate who is staking her claim? Any new young helpers in our cafeterias? In the bookstore?"

"Did you see any woman underwear or naked woman when you went to his room for project discussion?" Tibbett added.

Elphaba rolled her eyes.

"Maybe he was having a fever when you saw him. I'm sure whatever glow that you saw will be gone soon," she predicted.

"Or maybe not," Crope said. "We'll find out soon – hey!" he waved to someone in the distance. Elphaba turned around and groaned inwardly when she saw who it was. It was Fiyero.

"Prince Fiyero Tiggular!" Tibbett hollered and the few students who were within hearing distance turned to look at them. "Your Highness! Your Holiness! Your Grace! King of the Ladykillers! My Lord! Your Majesty! Your – "

Fiyero walked over quickly with a finger to his lips, hushing Tibbett.

The latter guffawed at the embarrassed look on the prince's face.

"You don't have to be so loud," he said.

"Sorry," Tibbett replied, wiping off the tears on his face. "I can't help it. I have just recovered from a sore throat and I can't help but show everyone that I have regained the full prowess of my vocal cords."

"So why are you in such haste, My Lord?" Crope joined in the fun.

"I'm going to the library to do some research for my project."

Fiyero was not looking at Elphaba when he said that, but she felt guilty immediately. She had stomped off earlier without finishing their project discussion.

Tibbett widened his eyes and mouth in mock horror. "Elphaba, you have been neglecting your project! Pray tell us why? Is there a naked damsel in His Lord's boudoir?" he asked, using the wrong words intentionally.

"amant-ami?" Crope faked an accent.

"Nothing of that sort!" Fiyero's face was turning red. "I just suddenly remembered that I need to check on something. The project is just more complicated than … expected."

Now that was an understatement.

Elphaba jumped to her feet, spurred equally by guilt and the need to get away from Tibbett and Crope as soon as possible before their almost-feminine instincts sussed out the truth.

"I'll help," she told Fiyero and pulled him away before the other two could stop them.

"What happened?" Fiyero asked when they were out of earshot.

"They knew."

"What?"

"Not everything. Somehow Crope just had a conversation with you and he knew that you're –" it was her turn to turn red. "But he didn't know with who," she added quickly. Fiyero gave her a quick look and she gave him a reassuring smile. For now, they were accomplices, working together to prevent their secret from being discovered.

They went to the third floor of the library where the history books were. The place was empty. They split up, each of them going to different shelves to search for the information that they need. Elphaba pulled out different books from the shelf, scanning the pages to see if they held the information that she was looking for. She was at the last shelf, engrossed in reading from a page when she felt a pair of hands on her hips. His cologne wafted around them and she felt his lips behind her ear, before he planted a line of kisses down her neck, his hands going to the flat of her stomach.

"I'm sorry for interfering into your personal matters. But I want you. So much," he whispered into her ear and she heard the next words as vibrations instead of sounds. "But I guess I can't."

She knew that they were in the library, a serious place for studying, but she felt the warm pooled between her legs on hearing his words. She ground her hips against his front and Fiyero moaned softly into her ear.

"Temptress," he said and she chuckled softly.

A hand moved to the hem of her skirt and under, his palm warm on her thigh, and Fiyero sucked lightly on the skin of her neck. His hand crept higher, his fingertips brushing against the hem of her panties.

"Do you want me too?" he asked, his voice smooth as silk as his fingers traced the outline of her mould. "Just say the word No and I'll stop. I won't force you if you are not willing." His fingers continued their journey, gliding up and down between her legs, while his other hand unbuttoned the first button of her blouse.

"This is the library, Fiyero," she could hardly get the words out.

"Hmmph. No one ever comes to the third floor." His fingers rubbed roughly against her clit through her panties and she gasped at the unexpected sensation. He laughed into her skin and he continued, drawing circles on the fabric, teasing her by dipping a finger briefly into her panties.

"So stop or go?" he asked as his other hand undo yet another button. She closed her eyes, pushing against his fingers, wanting him to touch her bare skin. "I guess that's a no?" His fingers stopped their ministrations under her skirt.

"Fuck you, Fiyero," she groaned.

"Are you scolding me or begging me?" he teased her as his fingers went to her thighs, pressing on her supple skin. Elphaba parted her legs subconsciously as she turned her head back to look at the prince from the corner of her narrowed eye. He pushed the fabric aside, his fingers drawing shapes on her bare skin, the pressure increasing, and she had to bit her lower lip to stop the moans from escaping. His other hand went into her blouse, kneading her right breast, and alternated between rolling and pinching her nipple with his thumb and forefinger. She braced herself against the shelf, her hands gripping the wood hard as Fiyero rubbed against her clit. She moulded her hips to his, and she could feel his erection hard against her back.

"Do you want me?" he asked again, his voice ragged against her ear. "Do you want me inside you, Elphaba? Do you want to feel me moving inside you?" Her legs quivered with desire, and she nodded her head, her eyes still shut. She could taste the blood as her teeth break the skin of her lip.

"I want it too. I want it so so bad. But I can't. We can't." Fiyero panted as he bit on the skin of her neck. But his fingers increased their intensity between her legs, her juice coating his indexes, and Fiyero surrendered with a groan as he slipped a finger into her. Elphaba let out a whimper at the sensation of his finger inside her, as he slipped another finger inside. His fingers moved within her, curled slightly, massaging her sweet spot.

"Oz," she threw her head back, and Fiyero's mouth closed on hers, kissing her as his fingers worked on her sensitive nerves, as his fingers moved in and out and in circles. He removed his fingers and went to her clit before going in again. She felt a wave gradually building, spreading from her core outwards, and Fiyero held her tight against him, his hand on her mouth as the wave pushed her off the cliff. As the shivers subsided, Fiyero removed his fingers and flipped her around so that she was facing him. His mouth went to her neck as his hand went under her skirt again, going for her clit. Elphaba wrapped her arms around his shoulders, her fingers digging into his flesh when his mouth went to hers, kissing her with searing heat. His fingers went inside her again, touching her where she wanted him most. She gasped at the sensation, as his fingers continued to work on her as he felt her legs shaking, until her panting was in tandem with the way her flesh clenched around his fingers. He pressed his mouth against hers, swallowing her moans as a shudder coursed through her and she collapsed against him, her hands dropping to her sides.

He held her close until he knew that her legs were strong enough to stand on their own, and it was only then that he released her, only then that he pulled his fingers out.

"Your hair's a mess," he told her, a hand reaching out, and it was only at the last minute that he remembered that his hand was not exactly clean. Elphaba blushed at the sight of his stained fingers and she quickly looked away, pretending to be engrossed in typing up her hair.

"I … we …." She did not know what to say.

"This is the last time," he said. She nodded.

But they both knew that that would not be the case.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Elphaba massaged her temples as she tried to focus on the assignment sheet before her, its deadline circled in red. A group discussion and it was due in two weeks' time. And why was she not surprised that she was paired with Fiyero again because of their first names? She could hear two girls whispering a few benches behind her, envious of the green girl's good fortune to be grouped with the handsome prince.

"Elphaba," the Vinkun prince pranced over, his face lit up with a megawatt smile. "Guess we'll have to spend more time together again."

She rolled her eyes.

"We can discuss in your room," she answered even before Fiyero could ask his next question. They had tried having their project discussions outside, in the library (just not the empty third floor), one of the cafes and even the benches in the open, but Elphaba gave up after a few sessions. If they were seated side by side, Fiyero's hand would inevitably go under the table and rest on her thigh, and his fingers would start playing with the hem of her skirt soon after, distracting her from their discussion. If they were outside, Fiyero would lean close to her when he spoke, brushing his lips against the shell of her ear, his breath hot against her skin, and it would take all her will to stop herself from turning to kiss him. She found that she could not concentrate, not knowing if Fiyero would touch her any second, not knowing if she could control herself or if anyone would see them.

It was slightly better in his room. She would be distracted too, but at least she did not have to worry that they would be caught by someone. In his room, he would massage her shoulders when she stayed in the same position for too long or kiss her from behind when she rested her head on the back of her seat, his hands straying to the front of her shirt, unbuttoning her uniform or untucking her blouse and chemise until he could access her breasts. Sometimes he would kneel before her chair, hiking up her skirt and kiss her thighs, or he would pull her into his lap and made out with her until they were both satisfied to a certain extent. And then they would get down to work.

But she wanted him inside her again, to feel his movements inside her, but he kept to his promise. He would not risk getting her pregnant, no matter how much they wanted it, no matter how much they yearned for it until he knew what had happened. But she was not going to tell him the truth. He did not have to know.

Her migraine worsened with that thought. She squeezed her eyes shut against the sun.

"Are you OK?" he asked, concern on his face. She nodded and continued. Nessa had not come back from her 'short break' in the Emerald City and Elphaba had no idea if her sister was still angry with her. The accusation grated on her nerves, but Nessa was still her sister no matter what, and she hated it whenever they had a misunderstanding, even if it was no fault of hers. She had also been sleeping lesser. Galinda had started seriously dating again, and she kept the green girl up every night talking about her perfect new boyfriend. And of course, Elphaba had to spend time catching up with her studies since she was spending so much time on her 'project' with Fiyero.

She felt that her brain was going to explode by the time they reached his room. She squeezed her eyes shut again, trying to let some of the tension out of her with a huff.

"Are you sure you are OK?" He held her by her shoulders. "You look pale."

She nodded. "Can I have something to drink? Water?"

Fiyero settled her on the couch and got her a glass of water which she drank gratefully.

"Are you ill?" He asked as he sat next to her, pulling her towards him so that she could rest her head on his shoulder. She closed her eyes again, grateful for the human pillow.

"Just a migraine. Not enough sleep."

"Too much work? I can take over some of the project work." He massaged her temple with one hand.

"It's Galinda. She's keeping me up all night with endless chatter about her new boyfriend. She's dating again."

"I'm glad for her."

Elphaba opened her eyes briefly as she searched for the expression on Fiyero's face, and he noticed it.

"Don't look at me like that. I'm genuinely happy for her. I told you, it's over between us."

His hand went to her shoulder, kneading it.

"Oz, you're tense," he observed. He shifted her to the floor so that she was seated between his thighs and worked on her shoulders. Elphaba dropped her head forward and Fiyero undid her plait, running his fingers through her thick hair and massaging her scalp. She moaned as she felt the tension lessened.

"You should sleep more, and don't tie your hair so tightly. Maybe you'll have fewer headaches then."

"It's your fault," she muttered with her eyes closed.

"What did I do?" the prince was confused.

"What did you not do?" she asked, tilting her head back as she wrapped her hands around his muscular thighs.

Fiyero chuckled and moved her hands away. "You're having a migraine and all you can think of is sex?" But he did join her on the floor, tilting her head slightly so that he could kiss her on her lips. He moved to her neck after a while, leaving a trail of kisses before he sucked lightly on the skin there to draw a contented sigh out of her.

"I heard that naps are good for migraines. So you should take a nap." He pulled her to his bed and tucked her in.

"We need to discuss about the assignment, Fiyero," she muttered as he drew the thick curtains closed, and the room descended into darkness as if it was night time.

"We can talk about it when you're feeling better," the prince promised and he kissed her on her temple. "I'll go to the library to get some work done, but I'll be back before you know it."

* * *

It was still pitch black when Elphaba woke up with a start, not knowing where she was. The first thing that came to her was that she was not in her own bed. The second thing was that there was someone else in the bed with her. She should panic, but just then the person moved and snuggled closer to her, wrapping his arms around her.

"You awake?" Fiyero asked as he pressed his nose to her hair.

"Oz, Fiyero. You scared me." She pushed him on his chest.

"I did?" his voice was groggy. "What did I do?"

"I always sleep alone." And she rolled her eyes in the dark. What kind of stupid statement was that?

But the prince chuckled and pressed his lips against hers.

"Feeling better?" he asked.

"What time is it?"

"I don't know. Late?" He kissed her again. "It was almost midnight when I finished my homework, so I guess maybe it's 2 am? 3?"

"Lurline, and you let me sleep for so long?" She tried to get up but Fiyero pulled her down again.

"You were sleeping so soundly I don't want to wake you up. It seems that you need to catch up on your sleep badly."

"I need to go back, Fiyero. Galinda must be worried."

He tightened his grip around her waist.

"No," he said. "It's past curfew. Wouldn't it be worse if she caught you going back in the middle of the night? Go back to sleep. You just need to wake up a bit earlier tomorrow and go back before she wakes up."

Elphaba was unable to find fault with his suggestion.

He pulled her close to him. "I have bought dinner for you, but I guess it's cold now. Do you want some hot chocolate instead?"

The green girl snuggled closer to him, her hand going to the waistband of his boxers and dipping her thumb in, shaking her head as she kissed him. Fiyero chuckled softly and rolled her onto her back before he kissed her on her lips, her jaw, her neck before kissing her lips again.

"This is very tempting, my Fae, but my job is to ensure that you have enough sleep."

"Fae?"

He kissed her again. "Mm. The name came to me when you were sleeping. Do you like it?"

* * *

Elphaba went back to her room before dawn and quickly snuck into the toilet with a clean set of school uniform. Her migraine was gone for the time being after a peaceful night sleep in Fiyero's arms. As she showered, she thought of the nickname that Fiyero gave her.

Fae. Just the sound of that name sent shivers down her spine. Was this what FWBs did besides all the kissing and touching? Give each other nicknames? A name that no one would know except for the two of them? She knew that Galinda gave all her boyfriends affectionate nicknames, but did FWBs give each other nicknames too?

"Elphie?" the blonde was awake by the time she came out of the shower. "Where did you go last night?"

"I was in the library. You were asleep by the time I came back," Elphie lied easily as she rubbed her hair dry with her towel.

"What's that?"

Elphaba turned around in surprise when Galinda touched her neck.

"What's what?" She covered her neck with the towel.

"That mark. Is that a hickey?"

Elphaba swore inwardly as she quickly adjusted her collar to cover the bite that Fiyero had given her in the library. Galinda tried to get a better look at her skin but Elphaba turned away.

"It's nothing." But she could feel her face turning red.

"My Elphie!" Galinda squealed. "Where did you get that hickey from? Who gave it to you?"

"Galinda, it's nothing."

"A love bite is nothing? Elphie the bookworm let a boy kissed her?" Galinda gave another squeal. "I'm so sorry that I have been neglecting you, Elphie, but you don't have to be shy. It's normal to be interested in boys. Tell me who he is and we can go on a double date with Tim Tim," she said, referring to her new boyfriend.

"Look, Galinda, it's nothing. I was bored, so I just went to a bar in town for a drink and there's just this guy. He's a stranger alright? I didn't even know his name."

"Elphie! You made out with a guy and he didn't even give you his name?" Galinda turned sympathetic. "You poor thing! I'm so glad that you're finally showing some signs of being interested in boys. But you don't have to go to bars to meet guys. There are plenty of nice guys here in Shiz and I am sure more than a handful of them are interested in you. If only you are not so smart and intimidating. But there's nothing to fear. With a little bit of my help, you'll be popular and the guys in Shiz will start noticing you and you can have any boy you want."

* * *

All the students took Ozian History as a common module, and Fiyero was in the classroom with Boq waiting for the lesson to start when they heard some noises outside.

"What's that commotion?" Boq asked. He found out soon enough when the door opened, and Galinda entered the classroom, and Fiyero did a double-take when the next person entered the classroom.

It was Elphaba, and yet it was not. Galinda had obviously done a makeover for her roommate, from her hair to her face to her uniform. The green girl had makeup on and she had let her hair down, which was curled at the ends. Her baggy school uniform had been altered and was now nipped under her breasts to emphasis her figure and her top button was undone. Her shirt, which was usually too long now ended just below her waist, drawing attention to the swing of her hips as she walked, and her skirt was also shortened by at least five inches, showing off the long, slim legs that previously only Fiyero was privy to. Behind her was Avaric, the captain of the school soccer team and a well-known womanizer, obviously drooling.

"What -" He had not seen her for two days and this happened?

He looked around, and it was obvious that he was not the only one who had noticed Elphaba's new image. The girls went up the steps to their usual seats, and the boys' eyes followed.

"Is that Elphaba? Is she being possessed or something?" Boq asked just as Tibbett and Crope slipped into the seats next to them.

"Galinda took her sanity, I guess," Tibbett replied. "I never know that she has such a good figure, though."

Crope smacked him on his arm.

"What I mean is it's smart of her to hide her figure from all the Shiz perverts all this while!" Tibbett almost shoved Crope off the chair.

The girls settled down and Avaric quickly joined in, sitting next to Elphaba. He curled a lock of Elphaba's hair with his finger and she glared at him and Fiyero nearly laughed out loud. But Avaric did not seem to be deterred at all. He chuckled as if he was amused and put his arm behind Elphaba's chair without her knowing.

Madame Morrible came in just then and the lesson started.

As the lesson progressed, Fiyero watched with narrowed eyes as Avaric tried to get closer to Elphaba. He dropped his pen far too many times and invaded into Elphaba's personal space as he bent down to pick up the pen. He was always talking to Elphaba, even though Elphaba ignored him most of the time. His hand strayed, brushing against Elphaba's shoulder and she hissed at him.

"Is anything the matter, Miss Elphaba?" Madame Morrible asked. "Do you have any burning question to ask?"

Elphaba looked down, the tip of her ears turning red. "Nothing, Madame Morrible."

As Fiyero watched, Avaric whispered something to Elphaba, and she inched closer to Galinda. She glared at him and was about to retort when the playboy brushed his thumb against her cheek and she pushed his hand away with a pen. He then said something and to Fiyero's surprise, Elphaba replied something that Fiyero could not hear.

By the time he exited the classroom, the green girl was nowhere to be found. For a moment, he thought that she would be with Galinda, until he spotted his ex-girlfriend with her new boyfriend in the distance, walking with their arms linked. Elphaba was not with them.

* * *

"So you needed some help with your homework?"

"Absolutely," Avaric said as he led the way. "Just let me get my textbook from my locker."

Elphaba had a bad feeling about this, but Avaric had sounded so sincere when he mentioned that he needed help with his Chemistry homework, which Elphaba had completed last semester. She followed him until she realised that he was bringing her to the boys' locker room.

"Avaric, I don't think I am supposed to go in."

Avaric gave her a wink. "There's no one inside. The things that I need are inside and it will be so much easier if I can refer to it." He pulled her inside by her arm.

She could see the rows of lockers and benches, the setup similar to the girls' locker room. Avaric was right. There was no one else inside.

He led her inside, and pushed her against a wall almost immediately, puckering his lips.

"What do you think you're doing?" she pushed him away.

"What you want me to do, you little vixen?"

"What? You said that you needed help with your homework."

Avaric leaned closer to her and placed a hand above her waist, too close to her breast. "You are my homework."

"You said Chemistry!" Elphaba eyes flashed with anger.

Avaric laughed. "Oz, you mean you have no idea? You and I equal chemistry, baby. I'm so glad you come to me, baby. Where have you been all this while?" He pulled her closer.

"You're crazy. I didn't come to you. You are the one who's been following us the past two days!" Elphaba tried to push him away again but he grabbed her wrists instead.

"Come on, baby. It's just a kiss. I know that you want me."

She struggled against his grip, turning her face away when Avaric tried to kiss her on her lips. She glared at him, and then knocked her forehead against him unsuccessfully when the blond suddenly bent over and howled in pain.

Elphaba ran.

* * *

Fiyero was at the corridor when he heard sounds from the locker room, voices shouting. Before he could decipher the words, he saw a familiar green figure running out of the locker room. Her eyes widened when she saw him and she nearly came to a stop, but suddenly there was a shout from the locker room and she grabbed his wrist as she ran past, pulling him with her.

They ran along the corridors, hand in hand, turning corners until they reached a dead end. Fiyero tried the two classroom doors at the side, but they were all locked. There was another shout, and by now Fiyero had recognised that it was Avaric's voice and he was catching up with them. Before he could figure out what to do, Elphaba opened the door to the janitor closet and went in. She pulled him in after her and pulled the door shut with a satisfying click just as Avaric turned the corner. The closet was small, barely enough for one person, let alone two. The wall behind Fiyero sloped inwards, and he had to lean forward so that he would not hit his head. There were some brooms and dustpans at the back of the closet that were poking into his right arm, and he had to move his arm forward so that it was next to Elphaba.

It was only then that he thought of something.

Why was he running away from Avaric?

"Why –" Elphaba covered his mouth with a hand and placed her other hand behind the back of his neck to pull him towards her.

"Shh. Avaric is still outside," she whispered into his ear. Fiyero nodded to indicate that he understood. Elphaba released her hands, but he stayed where he was, his head tilted towards her, his mouth next to her ear. He braced himself against the wall, his hands on either side of her, taking in her scent.

Oz, she smelled so good.

He had known that she smelled good, but with the enclosed space, her scent seemed to fill the air. He closed his eyes, leaned closer and brushed his lips against the shell of her ear. She sucked in a breath.

She opened her mouth to say something, and then closed it again. Fiyero held her by her hips and pressed his lips against her ear, his tongue licking her earlobe.

"Fiyero!" she whispered his name harshly.

He hushed her, knowing that she could not see the smile on his face.

They kept quiet, listening to the noise outside as Avaric tried door after door, coming closer and closer to them. He would reach their door soon, and Fiyero reached for the doorknob, really to hold the door firm from inside if Avaric tried to open it from outside.

Avaric rattled the door, but it held. He tried again without success and swore.

"Where are you, you little tease?" he said a singsong voice. Fiyero put a finger to her lips lest she responded.

Avaric swore again. He kicked something, a few things, and then, to their surprise, he left.

Elphaba let out a sigh of relief after a while when it seemed that he would not be coming back.

"So what happened?" Fiyero asked.

"Nothing."

"Nothing?"

She spoke after a while. "He tried to kiss me."

"What? And you let him?"

"Of course not? Do you think I'm brainless or what?" she hissed. "We have never spoken more than one word before today! But he caught my hands and held them and I had to do something," she explained, grabbing Fiyero's wrists so that he understood what she was saying.

"What did you do?"

"I tried to headbutt him. It didn't work, and then I … I think I kneed him."

Fiyero laughed out loud.

"That's not funny."

Fiyero tried to contain himself. "You think?"

"I don't know if I really did it! But he was bent over and his hands were between his legs…"

Fiyero laughed again. "I'm sorry, but it is funny."

She mumbled something under her breath.

"And I think I have an idea why he is suddenly paying you so much attention." His hand strayed to the hem of her skirt and he touched the skin underneath. "It is kind of hard for anyone not to notice your long legs with this short skirt."

She huffed as she reached for the doorknob. "That's not funny, Fiyero." She twisted the doorknob, and then there was a loud clatter as something fell to the floor. She swore.

"What is it?"

She swore again, and then Fiyero heard the sounds that she made as she pushed at the door. He stretched out his hand. The doorknob was gone.

"It dropped," Elphaba said, disbelief in her voice.

Fiyero pushed against the door with an elbow. The door stayed. He then tried to kick the door open, his leg at an awkward angle. It held. He swore. When was a door ever this sturdy?

Elphaba's fingers dug around the hole that used to be the doorknob but was unable to feel anything. Fiyero tried using brute force again without success.

"We're trapped," he concluded.

"The janitor will come soon."

"You sure? When was the last time we see anyone sweeping the corridors?" he asked.

Elphaba huffed again.

They stood there not talking, the silence only broken by the sounds of their breathing, until Fiyero could not take it anymore.

"So why did you let Avaric kiss you?"

"I didn't! He claimed that he had some Chemistry enquiries that I could help him with."

"But would you let him kiss you if he had asked nicely."

"Of course not, he's a creep."

"You called him a …"

"Fiyero, if you ask any more questions about that creep, I'll knee you the same way I kneed him."

The prince laughed.

"You know, maybe by the time the janitor opens this door it'll be months later, and we'll be nothing but a pair of skeletons," he said after a while, his mind working.

"Very funny." She was not amused.

"Would you like to fulfil my dying wish then?" He leaned closer to her.

"You're not dying."

"My wish then. Will you grant me my wish, Genie Fae?"

She thought for a while. "What wish?"

He tilted his face and kissed her on her mouth before he continued.

"What makes you think that you are unable to have babies?"

"You're really asking to be kneed, aren't you?"

"If it'll get me the answers, yes." His hands went to her hips.

It was a while before she answered.

"We don't need another green person in this world."

"What? What made you say that?"

"I didn't say that. My father did."

Fiyero swore. "Your worth is not defined by your skin colour."

Elphaba continued as if he had not spoken.

"When I started my monthlies, he brought me to see someone. A doctor. The first thing he did was to strap me in, and then inject me with something that made me go to sleep. I woke up in lots of pain and I thought that I was going to die. There was so much blood, all over my lower body." Fiyero hissed. "He said that he did it for me. That the world does not need another green person." Frex also predicted that Elphaba would be a whore like her mother, a word that Elphaba did not understand until she was older. "The doctor took out whatever he was supposed to take out so that I will never get pregnant. Well," she laughed, "even if he did not succeed in the first place, I guess the infection that set in after that completed the job." She shivered as she recalled the fever and chills that lasted weeks as she slid in and out of delirium, the way it felt as if her insides were on fire. She supposed she was lucky that she survived.

She expected him to say something, to say that she must be mistaken, that there was no way she could be sure, but the prince kept silent.

"Say something," she said when the silence became unbearable.

"You don't believe me," she challenged him.

But the prince only pulled her into his arms.

"I believe you." He sounded so solemn that she believed that he was telling the truth.

He pressed his lips to her hair and stayed there.

"Can you kiss me?" she asked, suddenly feeling very vulnerable.

Fiyero nodded, and he cupped her face, but she put a hand on his chest just as he leaned in.

"Wait, don't touch me. I don't need your pity." She shook her head.

He kissed her anyway, his mouth lingering on hers.

"Who said that it's pity? I've kissed you before, and I love the sounds that you make when you want me, so who's to say that it is pity? And I didn't touch you. I kissed you." He heard her soft laughter and he took it as permission to kiss her again. And then he kissed her again, his hands on the wall on both sides of her head. He tilted his face, his tongue probing for entrance. Elphaba parted her lips for him, and he slipped his tongue inside and she whimpered softly, her fingers digging into his skin.

"Don't touch me," he teased her in between kisses. Elphaba chuckled, and she moved her hand to his back, gripping his shirt.

"Not touching you. Touching your shirt," she said as she kissed him back.

His mouth moved to her jaw, her neck and he sucked on the skin there. They continued to kiss, one kiss at a time, one kiss blending into the next, her gasps filling the small room. His hands gripped her butt, moulding her to him.

"What do you think you're doing!" The voice was loud as thunder, and Fiyero nearly jumped out of his skin. The light from the opened door shone in, blinding both of them momentarily.

"This is a closet, for Oz's sake! Not your bedroom!" the man spoke again, a broom in his hand, and it was only then that Fiyero recognised him as the cleaner that he saw along the corridor sometimes.

"Get out!" the man shouted, and the couple did not need any further prompting.

They half-walk, half-ran to his room, laughing all the way, and Fiyero pushed her against the wall the moment they were inside his room. He crushed his mouth on hers and kissed her hungrily as their hands moved across their bodies, pulling at his shirt, tugging at hers. She took off his shirt in between kisses as his hands worked on a few buttons of her shirt before he pulled everything off at one go, his mouth felling onto her breast, biting her gently before he sucked on her nipple. His hand slipped under her skirt and into her panties, teasing her, earning a moan from her. She whimpered as he kissed her shoulder, up to her neck, nipping at her earlobe. She hooked an ankle around his calf, giving him the access that he took without hesitation and he drew patterns on her clit.

He felt her growing wetness on his fingers as her breath quickened, and she threw her head back as he increased the pressure on her sensitive nerves. She let out a moan, her eyes fluttering closed as she reached for his belt blindly, and he had to stop whatever he was doing.

"Have patience," he told her as he took over. He looked up when he managed to free his legs from his pants and froze. Elphaba's eyes were still closed. Her mouth was opened slightly and she had slipped her hand into her panties, moaning as she touched herself, and Fiyero growled at the sight. She cocked her head and her hair fell across her face as she opened her eyes slightly.

"Yero…" she whispered his name, her hand still moving inside her panties as her lidded gaze fell from his face to his chest to his hard member. He swallowed, his throat suddenly dry.

He reached her side in less than a second, crushing his mouth into hers again as his hand went to her breast. He kissed her again and again, nipping at her lower lip as he pulled at her panties, ripping it. His hand reached between her legs, rubbing her clit hard with two fingers until her nails were digging into his back and her legs were trembling. She reached behind him, pressing his body to hers, grounding her hips against his fingers.

"Yero, please…," she pleaded into his ear.

Without a word, he hiked her leg to his waist and slammed into her. Elphaba moaned at the sudden sensation and her eyes fluttered closed again. He pushed her against the wall, using it as leverage as he dove deeper into her, her whimpers accompanying each thrust, her shivers getting stronger and stronger, her muscles clenching him hard.

He stopped his thrusting, but put his hand between her legs, teasing her slowly.

"Fae. Fae, look at me."

It took her a while before she could focus her eyes on him. Fiyero alternated the pressure of his touches, eliciting a moan from her.

"Who am I?" he asked.

"Yero?" His name came out in a breath.

"Is that a question?" he teased her, and she smiled briefly and she said his name again, whimpering softly as his fingers rewarded her for the right answer.

"Yes, it's me. It's me kissing you, it's me making love to you. It's not creepy Avaric."

She chuckled at his last sentence and kissed him on his mouth. Fiyero pushed her against the wall again, rolling his hips against hers. She gripped him tightly, pressing her mouth on his shoulder to muffle her moans as the shivers coursed through her body, and it only encouraged him further. He slipped a finger into her, feeling her trembles intensify with the additional pressure.

"Come for me, Fae," he growled into her ear as his hand went back to her clit, and he pushed her over the edge with a final thrust, and the prince followed soon after.

He waited until they were both strong enough to move before he carried her to his bed. They lay side by side, face to face, and Fiyero licked his thumb wet with his tongue before he rubbed his thumb on her eyelid, trying to remove the eye shadow that Galinda had applied on Elphaba's face.

"Oz, this thing is stubborn," he said when he failed after multiple attempts. Elphaba chuckled at his frustration and pulled his hand away gently.

"You don't need to be Galindified, you know," he told her. "You know you are beautiful, and it is our little secret."

"I'm not beautiful."

"You are," he said as he cupped her face and kissed her. He rolled her onto her back and continued to kiss her, his lips going from her lips to her neck to her breasts, his hand leading the way. He let his hand roamed all over her body before it came to rest at his favourite spot.

"Oh," Elphaba squeaked and she parted her legs slightly for him. Fiyero grinned at her and he kissed her flat stomach before he kissed between her legs, his tongue lapping at her clit.

"Yero!" she protested, but the green girl opened her legs wider for him subconsciously, and Fiyero took it as permission to continue. Elphaba shut her eyes and clenched the bedsheets as he licked harder and faster, her mouth the shape of an O as she tried to catch her breath and Fiyero found himself getting hard again. He moved to her breasts, sucking each nipple in succession before he wrapped the girl's legs around his legs as he entered her at an angle, going for her sweet spot. Elphaba moaned at the contact and she lifted her hips to meet him.

"Yero," she muttered his name as she wrapped her arms around his waist, whimpering with his every movement. Fiyero's hand kneaded her breast and he picked up speed. With each movement, she could sense that she was getting close, and he moved his hand between them, earning a loud moan from Elphaba and she felt herself falling. Fiyero continued as the first wave of shivers subsided, pumping harder and faster, and the green girl ground her pelvis against his fingers, wanting that feeling again. Her hands moved to his buttocks, pressing him to her, and it was not long before she came again. As she tried to catch her breath, she felt Fiyero gave a final thrust before he came, spilling his liquid heat inside her. The prince rested his face in the crook of her neck, and he muttered something before he pressed his lips to her neck.

"You're mine."


	6. Chapter 6

"Are you feeling OK today?" Fiyero asked he tilted her head back.

Elphaba nodded, and she closed her eyes as Fiyero started to massage her temples. She had felt the onset of another migraine the day before, and the prince had used homework as an excuse and ended their group lunch early and brought her back to his room where she spent the next few hours sleeping in absolute darkness and in his arms.

The gentle touches of his fingers along her hairline relaxed her, and she would have fallen asleep if it was not for the whistling of the kettle.

The prince prepared a cup of tea for her, the aromatic smell filling up the room.

"Is it nice?" he asked when she finished the tea, the cup still warm from the contents that were there seconds earlier.

She nodded.

"What is it?"

"It's Vinkun tea. It is supposed to be good in preventing migraines."

"Really." He could see the scepticism on her face. "What's in it?"

"It's a thousand-year Vinkun secret recipe. I'll have to kill you if I tell you," he deadpanned.

"Ah." The look on her face remained.

"There's really nothing scary inside. It's just flowers and herbs." He caught her jaw with his fingers. "I just want to see if traditional remedies can relieve your migraines. I got this shipped over from Vinkus. It's not poison. My grandaunt swears by it."

"So it's tea for the elderly."

"And my cousin, and my twice-removed cousin, and the herbalist who lives in the Red Windmill. And …"

Elphaba chuckled at his long list, and he noticed how she visibly relaxed, and he wondered if her persisted need to know everything stemmed from her previous bad experience where her father let a doctor operate on her without her approval. He reached for her, rubbing her forearms.

"What is it?" she asked.

Fiyero smiled, not knowing what to say, and he pulled her in for a kiss, and he could feel the smile on her lips. He kissed her again until she pulled herself away, and he remembered that she had mentioned that she had to leave early that day.

"So do you really have to go so early?" he asked as she moved to pack her books into her bag.

"It's not often that Galinda is staying in, and I would like to go back and clean up the place and spend some time with her."

"Of course," he said, but he hugged her from behind, trapping her hands.

"By the way, I got something for you." He had not planned on giving it to her today, but he did not want her to leave so soon. He sucked her neck, perhaps a bit too hard.

"Yero." She pushed him away.

"What?"

"Don't do that." She was afraid that he would give her another hickey that Galinda would notice.

"Why?" He pretended to be hurt by her remarks. "I am not Creepy Avaric."

Elphaba let out a huff as she put down her bag.

"Don't mention that name again."

"Why? Has he been bothering you again?"

She waved her hand, dismissing his concerns.

"I can handle him."

"You didn't answer my question." He pointed out.

The green girl gave him a smile. "And you're not supposed to notice that. I can take care of myself."

"Of course you can," he said hastily. He did not want her to think that he thought of her as a hapless female. That would only push her away. He knew that he should look for the guy one of these days and warned him to stay away from Elphaba.

He went to her, wrapping an arm around her waist before pulling her in for another kiss. Elphaba had stopped wearing makeup, but she had to continue wearing her altered school uniform as Galinda had thrown away the excess fabric, and she could not undo the alterations.

He pretended to look down her blouse.

"Great view," he commented.

Elphaba gave him a shove. "Yero! Is there only one thing in your mind?"

"Kind of," he deadpanned, and then laughed. She had let down her hair earlier, because he had messed up her plait not soon after they had come to his room for their regular project discussion, and he buried his fingers into her hair as he pulled her to him for another kiss, hungry for her lips. He pushed her against the table, rolling his hips against hers as he planted a series of kisses down her neck before kissing her lips again.

Oz, she tasted like nectar.

He told her as much when they stopped for air.

She raised her eyebrows. "You're drunk."

He shook his head. "I'm absolutely sober." He kissed her again.

"So just now you mentioned that you got… something for me?" she asked after a while.

He did not repeat his earlier statement, but simply took out the little carrier bag from under his bed and gave it to her.

"A gift." She raised her eyebrows again.

"You can call it compensation if you want to," he said before she could refuse it. "Just open it."

She looked at him for a moment before she put her hand inside and took out a box. Fiyero gestured to the box and she opened it, lifting up a skimpy piece of cloth. It was a pair of underwear, plain and ordinary, similar to the ones that she usually wore.

"It's… I mean…" Fiyero fumbled in his explanation. "I did destroy one of yours last month," he finally added, and she realised that he was referring to the day when he ripped her panties after they had successfully evaded her persistent suitor.

"Yes, you did." She cackled, and a wide smile remained on her lips. It was only then that she noticed something else. Her fingers dug into the box.

"But there is more than one pair," she looked at him questioningly as she picked up the others. Fiyero grinned at her, and it took the green girl several moments before she realised what the additional gifts inferred.

"Oh." Her face turned red at the thought, and Fiyero chuckled.

He went to her, placing his hands on her hips.

"Do you know that these are the ugliest lingerie that I have bought? There are so many varieties in the shop. Laces, silk, satin, boxers, hipsters, G-strings, panties with a slit at just the right place, so many types that I wanted to buy for you." The image of Elphaba wearing one of those black lacy panties nearly gave him a hard-on in the shop. "But I can only buy these ugly ones because your roommate will notice if you have anything sexy in your laundry basket," he explained.

"Thank you. I mean, you don't have to. I mean, I do have enough." She blushed again, wondering why she was elaborating on the quantity of her wardrobe to him.

"You won't have enough at the rate that I am going," Fiyero teased her and she blushed harder. The prince laughed again, and he cupped her face and kissed her, his hand going to her hair and messing it up further. He sucked on her lower lip, earning a whimper from her.

"I don't know if I got the right size though," he said when they were both breathless from kissing, though there was no doubt in his voice that he did.

"Then I guess I'll have to try?" she teased him.

She took one from the box and went to the toilet.

"Why are you changing in the toilet, it's not as if there's anything that I haven't seen before," he called after her.

Elphaba flashed him her middle finger before she closed the door.

She came out rather quickly, and Fiyero dropped his jaw at what he saw. Instead of putting on her clothes again, she had come out without her clothes, naked except for the new pair of panties. Her hair was pulled to the front, strategically covering her breasts, but it only drew his attention to the curves of her breasts, the way they jiggled slightly with each step.

She would give him a heart attack one of these days.

"Isn't this what you have in mind?" she asked, her head cocked to the side, a hand on her hip.

"No… I mean… I didn't plan this… but YES," he said as he pulled her into his lap. His hand went to her hair, twisting it around his fingers, his knuckles brushing against her nipple as his other hand went to the back of her neck, pulling her to him for a bruising kiss. "I thought you cannot stay?" he asked. "I might not be Creepy Avaric, but you know that I won't let you go when you are _dressed_ like this."

Elphaba cackled, her hands reaching for the buttons on his shirt. "I guess I can clean up my room tomorrow instead," she said as she started to unbutton his shirt.

"So I guess you can stay for a while?" he teased her as he pulled her for another kiss. He let her remove his shirt and work on his belt, and her hands moved to his pants.

"Maybe a little bit longer, if you'd let me do something," she replied softly.

"Something?" He had no idea what she was talking about.

She gave him a shy grin as she traced a line from his biceps to his crotch, and her smile turned mischievous when her hand rested on the bulge there. She unbuttoned his pants, slipping her hand inside.

He groaned at her touch.

She kissed him again as she released his arousal, her long fingers stroking his member, sliding along the length of his skin, and then she slid to the floor and kneeled between his legs. She licked the tip of his member once before swirling her tongue around it, feeling the way it twitches in response.

She looked at him, his cock poised before her lips. "Can I?"

Fuck.

His speech failed him, and the prince could only nod his head.

The green girl put him in her mouth slowly, the glide of her lips over his shaft sending shocks to his body, stopping once in a while to look at his expression. Her mouth was warm, and her tongue and hand were doing inexperienced things that somehow drove all thoughts from his mind.

He wanted to bury his hands into her hair so that he could go deeper. But he also wanted to touch her, to kiss every inch of her body, to have his tongue between her legs, to slam into her and hear her moans with each thrust.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

"Fae." His voice was raspy. "Stop. Stop!"

She froze for a moment, her eyes wide with surprise at his tone. and she released him.

"Fae. Fae. Fae." He slid to the ground, cupping her face so that she had to look at him. "I want you to stop not because you're not good. But I just…" He kissed her before continuing. "I just … I just don't like the fact that I cannot touch you." He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "I want to hold you, to touch you." He wrapped an arm around her waist while his other hand went to her thigh, rubbing circles on her skin. "I want to kiss you." He kissed her again. "And I couldn't do that when you were _down there_."

He pulled her up and lifted her and carried her to his bed. He kissed her again, their lips barely breaking contact as he removed the last few items of their clothing.

"I want to see your eyes, your smile." He cupped her breast, his thumb brushing against her hardened nipple as he kissed her again. "I want to hear the sounds that you make. You're not someone being paid to service me." His other hand went to her back, supporting her as he went for her neck, giving a trail of hot kisses before he sucked on the flesh of her shoulder, hard enough to leave a hickey. At least it was at a spot that no one could see.

"I hope Galinda is not going to call Missing Persons," he teased her as he pulled her onto his lap. Elphaba wrapped her arms around his neck and he kissed lower, on her collarbone, between her breasts, before he settled his mouth on her left breast, his hands on her hips.

"You can't see my eyes now, Yero," she observed.

"Different rules now," he told her.

"Double standards," she chuckled and he kissed her on her lips again.

He kissed his way down again, sucking her other breast and twirling his tongue around her nipple until she started to whimper. He parted her legs so that she was straddling him and reached between her thighs, two fingers on her clit and it did not take long before she was soaking wet and she was grounding her hips against his fingers, her nails digging into his back.

"Yero," she panted his name. "Yero, please."

"Please what?" he asked, acting nonchalant, though he was already rock hard for her.

"I want…oh…" she moaned as a shiver coursed through her, unable to complete her sentence.

He lifted her, and with a hand, guided her to lower herself onto him, letting out a growl when her silky flesh gloved his member.

She wrapped her arms around him and he rested his forehead against hers while his hands went to her waist, guiding her how to rock her hips. She caught on easily, rocking and moving to her own rhythm, moaning softly as his cock slid in and out and massaged her sensitive nerves, the tingles rising like bubbles in her bloodstream.

"Oz, you felt amazing, Fae," Fiyero told her and he kissed her hard on her mouth before he went to her neck. His hands slid down her body, touching her curves before they stopped at her hips. His hand went to the juncture of her thighs, stroking her velvety flesh, rocking with her, making her purr and tremble at the same time.

"So damn fucking amazing," he said as he ghosted his lips against hers. and he closed his eyes as the two of them fell off the edge of the cliff.

* * *

"So are you going tonight?" Galinda asked.

"Tonight?" It took Elphaba a while before she realised what Galinda was referring to. "Oh, do you mean to the gallery's opening?" Crope had worked with an outside friend and brought in a travelling art auction.

"Yes, I'm going. Crope is asking us to help with the crowd and the drinks." Elphaba sat on her bed as she rubbed her hair dry. Her legs felt like jelly, and it felt as if Fiyero was still inside her, both of them moving in tandem even though it had been two days since they had been together.

Oz, she had no idea that sex could be so good. In the first place, sex was never something on her mind. It was words in forbidden books, stories that she heard some girls whispered about, and something that she was never interested in. And now she was having mind-blowing sex regularly with the hottest guy in the school. Her mind went to him, the way they moved together, the smile on his face when they were together, the way he laughed when she made an inexperienced move, and Elphaba felt her face turning hot. She quickly turned around from her roommate and tried to think of something else.

"Have you seen the art pieces?"

"No, Crope wanted it to be a surprise for us too."

"Really," Galinda put a finger to her chin. "I hope it's nothing raunchy."

"I can't guarantee that if he is the only person shortlisting the art pieces, but he has a business partner for this venture."

The girls laughed.

* * *

The temporary gallery was held in a warehouse. There were dozens of pictures, sceneries and portraits, hanging on the walls with a small plaque showing the name of the artist and the title and short description of the piece. There were also some sculptures.

Crope had spent the whole afternoon dressing, and he looked dashing in his tuxedo suit and his hair slicked back. Crope's partner was an older man, a friend of a friend, and he was formal but courteous and many of his guests had titles in their names.

"You look divine," Fiyero complimented Elphaba the moment the other guys were out of earshot. She was dressed up in the waiter uniform like the boys, in a crisp white shirt and black pants and her hair tied up. Elphaba only raised her eyebrows.

The first two hours were for invited guests only, and the friends found themselves serving barons and margraves, and businessmen whose jewelleries were enough to pay for a year of Shiz's school fees. Crope and his business partner mingled with the guests, making small talk, and there was a discreet "Sold" sticker next to many of the pieces by the time the door was open to the public.

Elphaba was surprised when she saw Galinda alone in the crowd, an empty flute glass in her hand. Boq went over, and the blonde placed her empty glass on his tray before picking up another glass. Boq said something and she giggled, loud enough for the people around them to turn and stare. Another guest asked for more wine and Boq had to replenish his tray. Galinda, alone, walked around the place, stopping before each piece. It was a while before Elphaba could reach the blonde.

"Hi, Elphie." She grinned at her roommate.

"Where's your boyfriend?"

"Timtim?" she looked around as if she did not realise that he was not with her. "Oh, he had to run some errands. He'll be here soon."

The blonde looked at the tray that Elphaba was holding, and she tiptoed and tried to exchange her empty glass for another glass of wine. And then Fiyero was there.

"That's enough," he said as he stopped her from reaching for the glass of wine.

"Fiyero? Is that you?" She squinted her eyes. "I can't recognise you when you are dressed up like this."

Fiyero rolled his eyes dramatically.

Galinda tried to reach for the glass again.

"I said that's enough, Galinda. This is what… your fifth glass since you stepped in this place?" Fiyero said. "You're drunk."

Galinda smiled at him. "My, my. Have you been watching me all this while? And who do you think you are? Do you still think that you are my boyfriend?" She patted his cheek lightly. "We broke up, remember? You can't control me anymore."

"Oz," Fiyero swore. "You are really drunk. I'm bringing you back. Elphaba," he turned to the green girl. "Can you – " The splash of cold champagne on his face stopped his next words.

"You can't!"

Before Fiyero could react, a man broke through the crowd.

"Galinda!"

The blonde turned at the voice and squealed with delight when she saw who it was.

"Timtim!" She wrapped her arms around her boyfriend, ignoring the horrified look on his face. "I missed you!" She kissed him in front of Fiyero. "My boyfriend is here, so don't you dare lay a finger on me."

"What?"

"I didn't – "

Elphaba stepped between the two boys. "He didn't touch her. He was just trying to stop her from drinking any further. She's high, Tim. How much has she drunk before she came over?"

Tim looked at the girl who was clinging onto him, who was mumbling something that he could not hear.

"We came from a pub just now and she has a glass or two there. I didn't realise that it is affecting her so much. I think you're right. I'll send her back now." He turned to Galinda, and the blonde took the opportunity to kiss him again.

"Just take care of her," Fiyero said and Elphaba turned at the catch in his voice.

Tim nodded. "Yes, I will. Thank you."

"My wonderful, wonderful boyfriend," she sang as Tim wrapped an arm around her waist and gently steered her towards the door.

Fiyero was gone by the time Elphaba turned around.

She found him near the back door of the warehouse, all alone. He looked up when he heard her footsteps but looked down again and kicked at a rock with his shoe.

"Fiyero."

"He doesn't deserve her. What kind of boyfriend will let his girlfriend walked around unescorted when she is drunk?"

"Galinda said that he had to run some errands. Maybe he did not realise that she is tipsy."

"Excuses." He kicked at another rock.

"Fiyero," she called his name again. She knew that she did not have the rights to say anything but she had to. "I know that I should not be saying this, but it's obvious that you still care about her. I know the two of you have broken up and she's with someone else now, but since you still love her, don't you want to know if she still loves you? I'm sure whatever problem that causes you to break up last time can be resolved."

"What?" Fiyero gasped. "Is that what you are thinking? That I'm still in love with Galinda?"

She did not have an answer.

"I've told you before – it's over between us."

"Just because your relationship is over does not mean that you cannot be in love with her." She had no idea why she kept probing for an answer. Fiyero kept quiet, and she wondered if she had touched a raw nerve when he suddenly laughed.

"Elphaba, I'm no longer in love with her. I'm angry because I think that she deserves someone better. She's still my friend, she's still someone whom I care about. Just because we have broken up does not mean that she no longer deserves someone who will take care of her." Fiyero took a step forward and cupped her face. "You actually think that I'm someone who will have sex with a girl when I am still in love with someone else? When I am still in love with her best friend?"

It took her a while to come up with an answer. "Haven't you said before that it is all physical?"

Fiyero looked at her.

"Fiyero?" she squeaked, embarrassed by the intense way he was looking at her, the way he did not blink. His eyes went down to her lips and back to her eyes and he swallowed. The prince pushed her against the wall.

"Yeah, it's all physical," he said as he kissed her on her lips. His hand went to her waist, pulling her to him. He kissed her again on her lips before moving to her jaw.

"And right now," he growled as he kissed his way down her neck, "the physical thing I want to do is to rip your uniform off and fuck you until you're hoarse from screaming my name." He hiked her leg around his waist. "Purely physical," he promised and there was something in his voice that sent a delicious shiver down her spine.

There was something about the dark alley, about not seeing his face that made it feel so forbidden. Fiyero ground his pelvis against her, and she could feel his growing erection through the thin fabric of their uniforms. He kissed her again and his tongue went into her mouth, meeting hers and she gasped. She knew that someone would come and look for them any moment, but she was unable to stop herself and stop him, and she did not want to. She could feel the tingles on her skin, her heart pumping and she did not give a damn if someone would catch them in the act. She wanted him, wanted him so badly, and she grabbed his butt with her hands, pressing him against her. His hand went to her chest, pinching her nipple through the clothes and she whimpered softly.

"Hello, guys?" The back door opened.

Fiyero jumped way from Elphaba as if she was a live wire. Boq's head popped out from behind the door.

"Yeah?" he asked.

"We are a bit shorthanded inside," Boq said, unaware of what had happened seconds earlier.

"Alright. Just give me a moment."

"Did you see Elphie?" he asked, unable to see the green girl who had hidden behind the door.

Fiyero shrugged. "I'm sure she's somewhere around. Why don't you go back and I'll try to look for her?"

"Thanks, bro," Boq nodded and disappeared into the warehouse.

Fiyero waited for ten seconds before he stepped into the shadow where Elphaba was, ghosting his lips against hers.

"Come to my room tonight," he said as he pressed her hand on his chest. "I can't rip off your uniform since we have to return it, but I'll make every single other word come true," he promised.


	7. Chapter 7

"You didn't come over last night." That was his first sentence when he slid into the seat next to her during their Ozian History class.

She shook her head. "Galinda was up all night." She could not leave her roommate, not when the blonde was in the mood to talk. And talk she did. The two girls had sat on Galinda's bed, huddling close to each other and talked for hours, something that they had not done for months. It was almost dawn when Galinda finally fell asleep and Elphaba crawled back to her own bed.

"How is she?" Fiyero asked.

"She's fine. A little hungover so she's resting in the room." She did not say anymore, even though she knew the reason behind last night's incident. Galinda had confessed that the couple had a tiff during dinner – Tim's ex-girlfriend was in town and had wanted to meet him. Galinda ended up drinking too much and stormed off. However, the couple had patched up when Tim sent her back to her room. Elphaba was not going to share this information with Fiyero though.

"Can we cancel our project discussion today? I'd like to be with Galinda this afternoon, just to make sure that she is alright."

Fiyero nodded. He was about to say something more when Boq, Tibbett and Crope came into the classroom and waved to them. The trio hopped up the steps to their row. As Boq moved in, the clumsy Munchkin tripped on one of the chair legs and almost stumbled into Fiyero's lap. The prince leaned towards Elphaba to avoid him, and he took the opportunity to squeeze her hand.

That contact would suffice for now.

* * *

"Our room is now so clean," Galinda gushed as she looked around their room. The two girls had spent two days of their spare time cleaning up their room, chit-chatting as they threw out the things that were no longer wanted and rearranging the rest. Elphaba was glad that Galinda did not attempt another makeover when she was throwing out makeup that she no longer wanted.

"No wonder some people said that spring cleaning is good for the soul. I feel so much better," the blonde added as she lay down on the floor as if she was making a snow angel and smiled at her friend. Elphaba knew that one of the reasons why Galinda was feeling better was because Tim had been paying her extra attention. He even dropped by to help with some of the chores until Galinda chased him out of the room. He then compensated by buying and delivering dinner to the girls.

Galinda tried to get up from the floor and groaned.

"Ow! My muscles are aching." She squeezed her arms to ease the ache. "I need a good massage."

"I'm Tim will oblige," Elphaba told her, and the blonde threw a pillow at her face.

* * *

"A Vinkun opera theatre is coming to town," Fiyero said as he kissed her shoulder before he buttoned up her dress. Elphaba turned around, and he pulled her to him, kissing her on her lips. "And I got to go – I got a pair of tickets. Would you like to come along?"

Elphaba frowned.

"Why, I thought you love performances?"

"I hate opera. It's so dramatic." She thought of Nessa and her tantrums and bit her lower lip. "Why don't you go with Tibbett?"

"Tibbett won't want to go with me. He's busy with his next art auction."

She thought about it. The two of them had always been surrounded by their friends whenever they were together, except during their project meetings. It would be strange for them to attend a show together, and an event that Fiyero needed to attend in his official capacity as a prince. Rumours would fly.

"There will be other people…" she said, her hand on his chest.

"And?"

"It's just strange," she did not know how to articulate further and was glad when understanding finally dawned on his face.

"I see… " he breathed. "But no one will see us."

She raised her eyebrows.

"It's a private box," he explained. "It has its own private entrance, and the audience below cannot see us even if they look up. There's absolute privacy. Of course, I can go alone, but then I'll have no one to talk to when it gets boring."

* * *

Fiyero was dressed in his finest, his hair gelled and combed back. He had to go earlier, to meet the cast and some of the Vinkun officials, and by the time Elphaba was there, his meeting was over and there was a delectable spread out on the table next to the couch in the private box.

"I hope you came with an empty stomach," he said when he saw her.

They ate bits of the different courses - cold ham with cheese, hot soup, sandwiches and wine, and was full way before the show started. The stage was still in the dark, the curtains covering the props, and the seats below were empty.

"I should have brought a book," Elphaba said as she snuggled next to Fiyero after the plates were cleared. He draped his arm around her shoulders, drawing circles on her skin with one hand while his other hand held a glass of wine.

"I'm here with you and you want a book?" he teased her.

She detangled herself from him and walked to the front, looking down at the rest of the audience seats. The audience was starting to stream in, people who would not be able to see her even if they looked up.

"How many girls have you made out with in a box like this?" She turned around and asked him. Fiyero approached her and let her finish the wine in his glass before he kissed her, his tongue seeking hers hungrily as he pressed her body against the railing.

"Why? Are you jealous?" he asked as he moved to her neck, kissing a trail from the back of her ear to her shoulder.

"No, just wondering what's the likelihood of getting caught."

He laughed into her neck before he moved back to the couch, a cheeky grin on his face as he reached out for her.

"I guess we can always find out."

She reached under her skirt, removing her panties, and watched as Fiyero's eyes widened with lust, the way his mouth opened slightly. She walked into his arms straddled him, bunching her skirt so that it flowed over his lap.

"There's no lock on the door," he whispered as he kissed her again, but his hand went under her skirt and stroked her bare thigh, his hand hot on her skin, going higher and higher until his hand reached the juncture of her thighs, and his fingers reached for her velvety folds. Elphaba widened her legs, and he stroked her clit slowly as if she was a string instrument and he was playing a love song.

Behind her, she could hear someone announcing the start of the show.

"The show's starting," she told a very busy Fiyero, and he nodded his head against her neck as he pressed harder on her clit and she let out a rush of breath. She could feel herself getting wetter with each stroke of his, her juice coating his fingers, and she closed her eyes as his fingers glided lower, touching the sensitive nerves at her opening as a round of shivers went through her body. At the stage, a soprano voice rose to the air, and Elphaba wondered if the goosebumps that she felt was from the singing or from the way Fiyero touched her. He slipped two fingers inside her as he kissed her on her mouth, drawing on her sweet spot from inside while his thumb continued to massage her clit, and Elphaba felt herself rising. She gripped the muscles on his shoulders and her breath quickened as she rocked on his fingers, feeling the way his ministrations made her flesh tighten around his fingers. Instead of stopping, he began to pump his fingers in and out against her contracting flesh, faster and faster, and she moaned softly with each thrust, rising higher and higher as the singer on the stage sang the next note higher than the one before, and she fell just as the song ended and the audience broke into applause, weak in his arms.

They ended up missing half of the performance and left when the audience stood up to give a standing ovation. They grabbed the first cab that they saw, and Elphaba was about to board the cab when she remembered something.

"Lurline," she cursed. "I got to go back to the theatre."

"Why?"

She giggled, a slight blush in her face as she leaned forward and whispered into his ear.

"I think I left my panties in the theatre."

Fiyero burst out laughing, unable to figure out how they had left behind something so important.

"You think?"

"Well, it's not on me, unless it is with you?"

He laughed harder as he shook his head. "Why don't you go back to Shiz. I'll go back to the theatre to retrieve it," he told her. "Wait for me in my room."

He found her sitting on his bed when he entered his room, underneath his blanket.

"Got it," he answered as he took out her underwear from his pocket.

"Thank you."

Fiyero went to the bed, shedding his own clothes along the way.

"And what are you doing under my blanket."

"I was cold," she said.

"So you decided to take off your clothes," he said as he peeled away the blanket, revealing her naked body. He had noticed her clothing on the chair when he first entered the room.

Elphaba wound her arms around his neck and pulled him down with her, saying nothing.

He kissed a straight line from her lips to her collarbone to her tummy to her thighs.

"You are cold," he commented as he brushed his lips against her thigh and then sucked on the skin there. Elphaba moaned softly at the sensation and he kissed her on her lips again before moving to her jaw and her neck, paying attention to every inch of her body until she was purring. He bit gently on her nipple, licking it with his tongue until it peaked before he moved down. He spread her legs, and hook a leg over his shoulder, running his tongue along her folds, tasting her sweet nectar as Elphaba clenched her toes and her hands were clutching the bedsheets.

"Yero, please stop," she whimpered his name as she twisted the bedsheet in her hand, her breaths quickening as he drew circles against her clit with his tongue, caught between the desire of wanting him, and wanting the torture to stop. He paused, and the green girl bucked her hips for more, and he chuckled. He supported his own weight with one arm as his other hand moved between her legs, his fingers stroking her slick skin as she moaned. He slipped his fingers into her easily as he continued to lap at her clit, her trembles telling him that she was about to fall. She let out a gush of wetness as she fell off the cliff, and Fiyero pressed his mouth to her skin, drinking in her sweet desire.

He let her breathing slow down before he kissed her again, moving her so that her back was against his front, lying on their sides. His hand went to her breast, kneading her nipple between his fingers until it hardened while he sucked on her neck. His hand moved down to between her legs, massaging her clit again, and she rubbed her back against his hard cock. He dipped his fingers slightly into her core, teasing her, and her body trembled with anticipation.

"Do you want me inside you, princess?"

Elphaba nodded, too high to speak out.

Fiyero positioned himself from behind and pushed himself in as Elphaba moaned softly, her hand covering his hand that was still on her clit. He took the hint, and he continued to draw on her clit as he pumped in and out, moving faster he felt her body shaking. With one last thrust, Elphaba orgasmed, and Fiyero followed shortly after. He rested his hand on her stomach, feeling the way her stomach move with each breath.

"Fae?"

"Yes?"

"Will you say yes if I ask you out sometimes?"

"Go out?" He felt her hold her breath for a moment.

"Yes. Just you and me. Maybe for a meal. Maybe to go to the bookstore. Maybe just to hang out?"

She thought for a while before she spoke again.

"I thought you said before that it is all physical?"

Fiyero pressed his nose to her neck and took in her scent as he reached for her hand.

"Maybe I was wrong?"

"Maybe?" She chuckled.

"Alright, I admit it. I am wrong." He felt her body shake as she laughed.

"So, will you?"

"Will I what?"

"Will you go out with me again?"

She took some time before she replied again.

"I don't know what Galinda will think, Yero. You are her ex-boyfriend after all."

Fiyero turned her around, smiling as he kissed her.

"Why are you smiling?" she asked.

His hand went to her face, and he brushed against her cheek gently.

"You didn't say that you don't feel the same way."

* * *

"Did you know that Fiyero went out with someone recently?"

Elphaba's heart missed a beat, and she looked at Galinda guiltily, but thankfully the blonde was not looking at her.

"Is it?"

"Yes, I heard that he went to watch a performance with a girl, but nobody saw her face. But they all know there was a girl because he went back after the show to retrieve something that she left. Did he tell you if he is dating anyone?"

Elphaba was wondering what she should say when she saw her friends in the distance, and among them, two faces that she did not expect to see that day.

Nessa was back.

"Isn't that Nessa?" Galinda noticed the wheelchair-bound girl at the same time. "When did she come back?"

"I don't know," Elphaba had to admit.

"It is now study week. Do you think Madame Morrible will let her sit for the exams?"

Madame Morrible always had special arrangements for Nessa's examinations, and Elphaba had no doubt the special arrangement was not just restricted to her seating arrangement. The schoolmistress would make sure that her sister passed her exams even though she was not around for most of the semester. But she said nothing.

The two girls went up to Nessa and their friends.

"Nanny, Nessa, you're back."

"Fabala, Galinda."

"How's your trip?"

"It's great. Isn't it, Nanny?" Nessa turned to her nanny. "Emerald City is such a beautiful place," she added. Nanny nodded, but the old lady's expression said otherwise.

"I'm so bored with studying for the exams. Let's go for a drink tonight," Crope suggested.

"I'm in," Tibbett raised his hand.

Boq shook his head. "I've promised Milla that we will be studying."

"Spoilsport," was Crope's response. "What about the rest of you?"

"I'm in too," Fiyero added.

"You? I'm going to keep an eye on you. And this time, we'll leave you there and let you choke on your own vomit if you're drunk. Right, Elphie?" Tibbett turned to Elphaba, who shrugged.

"You weren't any better the last round," Fiyero retorted.

"Me?" Tibbett pointed to himself. "I was still sober. But you? You were so wasted you had no idea which direction is up and which direction is down. If it weren't for Elphaba, we would have left you there." He guffawed. "You were so heart – " he broke off, giving Galinda a quick glance that she did not notice.

Nessa took the opportunity to cut in. "I thought you were a good drinker, Fiyero."

"Not what we've seen," Tibbett told Nessa. "And Elphie was such an angel to send him back."

"Really," Nessa said, her tone speaking volumes. Elphaba saw the expression in Fiyero's face when she said that, and she knew that he would raise the topic when they were alone.

"Are you joining us, Galinda?" Crope suddenly asked.

"Maybe I will," Galinda replied and all the boys looked at her in surprise, except for Fiyero.

"Yes, do join us," he said.

"Elphie? Keep me company?" the blonde asked.

Elphaba shook her head. "Maybe I'll stay in and study. Exams are coming after all."

"Oh come on, Elphaba," the boys spoke in unison. "You don't need to revise for your exam. You know everything,"

* * *

He found her alone in the library later that afternoon, behind a shelf.

"Hey," he said as he pulled her into his arms.

"Hey to you too."

He chuckled and kissed her on her lips. "You're really not joining us tonight?"

She shook her head. She knew that she should not be bothered with what Nessa said or thought, but somehow she did not want her sister's imagination to run wild again, even though the circumstances had changed much since the misunderstanding.

"It is Nessa, isn't it?"

"What about Nessa?" she replied, pretending that she did not understand.

"She was not happy that you spent the night in my room the last time I got drunk, am I right? I can clear things up with her."

She shook her head again.

"It's just a misunderstanding. You'll make things worse if you talk to her." She herself had made things worse by sleeping with Fiyero, making Nessa's false accusation came true.

Fiyero huffed. "She always thinks that the Vinkuns are an inferior race, barely good enough to study in the same school, let alone worthy enough to be a lover."

"Yero, she can't help it. Father has been teaching her all the wrong things," she defended her sister. "It's hard not to be influenced."

"Well, you manage to form your own opinions." She could hear that he was getting angry.

"She worshipped Father. She believed every single word he said," she explained. "I don't."

"She's no longer a five-year-old. You know, maybe one day she'll manage to persuade you that I'm not good enough for you too."

"She won't."

"I'm glad to hear that," he said and smiled at her, but Elphaba could see that he was not convinced.

* * *

Elphaba stayed in the library for a while longer before she left. She went to Fiyero's room, wanting to talk to him again before he left for his party, but he was not there. As the sun set, she made her way back to her room, her thoughts going back to Nessa. She wished that her sister could be more understanding and less stubborn. Lurline, she wished that her father could be more understanding and less stubborn, but she knew that there was no use wishing. Wishing only wounds the heart.

She reached her room and she took out her keys. The light inside was still on, and she assumed that Galinda was still busy putting on her makeup even though she was already late.

"Galinda, I'm sure the rest of them are wait – " she stopped mid-sentence as the couple in the room broke off whatever they were doing. But it was too late; she had seen what they had been doing.

Fiyero looked back at her, guilt written all over his face.

She had caught them kissing.


	8. Chapter 8

"Elphie!" Galinda squealed when she saw who had entered the room. "Guess what? Fifi and I are back together again! Isn't this great?"

She ran to Elphaba and hugged her, squeezing her roommate tightly.

Elphaba returned the hug, closing her eyes so that she did not have to look at Fiyero.

"Yes, this is great news." She did not know what else to say.

* * *

She did not want to know, and she did not want to hear his explanation. Galinda had broken up with Tim and she did not know why either. There was no denying that Galinda was much happier now that she was back together with Fiyero. Everyone could see that.

"So do you think she broke up with Tim before she started dating Fiyero again, or did Fiyero ask for her forgiveness and so she broke up with him?" Boq asked. Elphaba wrote on her notebook, pretending not to hear his questions.

"Fiyero!" Boq suddenly called out as he saw the prince in the distance, and Elphaba cringed. There were other students around, but Boq was the only one with her at her table. She knew that Boq would leave if Fiyero asked, and then it would just be Fiyero and her alone. She chewed her lower lip. She did not want to be alone with him. She did not know what to say if they were alone. She closed her book and put it inside her bag, ready to leave.

"Hi," Fiyero said when he reached their table.

"Come join us," Boq said as he shifted his things to make space for Fiyero. "There's something that I am really curious about," he said as he threw his arm over Fiyero's shoulder. "Did Galinda break up with Tim because of you?"

"What? I didn't break them up. As a matter of fact, I did not even - "

Elphaba stood up suddenly, shoving her pens into her bag.

"Elphaba?" Fiyero touched her wrist, but she pulled her hand away. She did not even glance at him as she pushed her chair back and left the table.

"Elphaba?" she heard Boq calling. "You left a pen!" She stomped on, trying to leave the canteen as her eyes welled up.

They're perfect for each other. They deserve each other, Elphaba reminded herself.

Her head pounded as if someone was hitting her skull with a sledgehammer, and her heart ached so badly she could not breathe.

* * *

"You're not concentrating." Nessa's tone was accusatory.

Elphaba looked up at her sister, who stared back at her. She pointed to the book that Elphaba was supposed to be reading, that she had not been reading.

"You are daydreaming."

Elphaba shook her head. "No." She gave Nessa a quick smile. "I was just thinking of a Math problem that I could not solve."

"Really?" Nessa did not look convinced.

Elphaba quickly turned her attention back to her History book, flipping the page once every few seconds even though she was not reading it. The Thropp sisters had been revising for their examinations. Nessa usually preferred to study alone, but Elphaba had insisted on joining her in her room, claiming that she would like to catch up with her sister who had just returned from the Emerald City. Nanny was in the common kitchen, preparing Nessa's favourite dishes for dinner.

Someone knocked on the door, and Elphaba went to open the door.

It was Fiyero. He was alone.

"Are you looking for Nessa? We're busy revising for the exams." Elphaba spoke before he could open his mouth. She knew that he would look for her sooner or later and so she had her script prepared. She knew that if she did not prepare her script beforehand, she would be at a loss of words when he turned up, just like before. She hoped he got the message that she was trying to convey – that she was not alone and anything that he said would be overheard by Nessa, and she herself was too busy with her exam preparation to think about him.

"Elphaba, you know I'm not here to look for Nessarose."

"Are you looking for Galinda then? She's not here. Perhaps you should look for her somewhere else. Have a good day." She moved to close the door.

Fiyero blocked the door closing with his foot.

"Elphaba, I came over because Nanny told me that you are here."

"Yes, as you can see, Nanny is right. Now please excuse me. We're busy studying for our upcoming exams. And I think you should do the same too if you wish to do well for your papers." She nudged his foot away and closed the door before he could say another word, pressing her back against the door as she shut her eyes and took a deep breath.

"Elphaba?" Nessa called out.

"Yes, Nessa."

"Who's that at the door?"

"It's Fiyero." She nearly choked on his name. It was no use lying as someone would have seen him at the door. "He thought that Galinda is here."

"Isn't it great that they are back together again?" Nessa asked as Elphaba went back to her room.

"Yes, of course. They deserve each other."

"And Galinda can take care of him the next time he is drunk. It's really inappropriate for you to spend the night in his room under those circumstances. You never know what he will do when both of you are alone, even if he is not inebriated. Their morals are different from that of the civilised world," her sister added.

* * *

She stumbled back to her room. She had promised Nessa that she would go to her room to do their revisions together that afternoon and she wanted to grab her notes so that she could refer to them later. But her migraine was getting worse. Nanny would be at Nessa's room, she told herself, and Nanny would know what kind of tea she should take to relieve her migraine. Or perhaps she could take a quick nap before heading over. As she made her way back to her room, she knew that what would be the most effective remedy for her migraine - Fiyero's room with its dark curtains drawn, his Vinkun tea, sleeping with his arms around her. She took a deep breath. Those options were no longer available, she reminded herself.

Galinda was seated at her vanity table when Elphaba entered the room, putting on her makeup. She had changed into a sleeveless sundress, her handbag by her side, and Elphaba knew that she would be going out soon.

"You're back," the blonde chirped happily. Elphaba massaged her temples, her migraine intensifying even though she was no longer under the sun.

"Yes."

"I'm going to Town with Yero for some fun. It's so boring studying the whole day. Do you want to join us?"

Elphaba shook her head. She lay down on her bed and closed her eyes without even bothering to take off her boots. But the pain made it impossible for her to relax, let alone fall asleep.

Someone knocked on the door, and Galinda answered it. Elphaba did not hear the words, but she could recognise Fiyero's voice, and could imagine Galinda's pout when he did not let her kiss him. She stayed motionless, pretending to be asleep.

She knew that it was not possible, but she could sense him looking at her.

"Is she alright?" he asked Galinda, concern in his voice.

"I guess she's tired from all the studying…" Elphaba could feel the side of her mattress sinking in as someone sat on the edge of her bed. "Yero! Why are you sitting on her bed! She'll kill you when she finds out!"

Elphaba heard Fiyero give a nervous laugh, but he did get up.

"Maybe you should stay in and keep an eye on her since she is not feeling well," he suggested.

"She needs her sleep and having me around will only disrupt that sleep. Give me a few more minutes," Galinda replied.

She opened her eyes. Fiyero was seated at her study chair. He had turned the chair around, supposedly facing Galinda, and he had one of her magazines on his lap. But his eyes went to Elphaba the moment Galinda's head was turned.

She got up immediately, ignoring his smile and picking up her notes from her table.

"Where are you going?" Galinda asked as she went out the door.

"To Nessa."

But she did not go to Nessa's room. She stopped in her tracks the moment she stepped out into the sun, the bright rays blinding her eyes and sending her head pounding again. She covered her mouth with her hand, trying to stop the nausea. She wanted to go to a cool, dark place. Fiyero would be outside with Galinda, and knowing Galinda, they would not be back until after dinner. Elphaba made her way to Fiyero's room, the memory of his comfortable bed with the thick curtains calling to her like a siren's voice.

She found his spare key where he always kept it and collapsed onto his bed after she drew the curtains shut, squeezing her eyes shut. She took a deep breath, fearing that the migraine would never go away, but then the pain slowly ebbed and she soon fell into a restful sleep.

* * *

She had no idea how long she slept. Her eyes fluttered open, and she slowly got a sense of her surroundings. She was in Fiyero's room. The room was still pitch black. She was warm and comfortable, cocooned with the blanket, and Fiyero's arms was lovingly around …

She sat up with a start.

"Are you feeling better?" Fiyero asked as he tried to pull her into his arms. She pushed him away.

"What are you doing here?"

"This is my room."

"You are supposed to be with Galinda. Where is she?"

"She went shopping with Shenshen."

"You're supposed to be with her."

"Yes, I was with her. But I just can't forget the look on your face, how terrible you looked. So I told her that I suddenly remembered that I had to do something and left her with Shenshen. I went to Nessa's room to look for you, but Nanny said that you were not there, and then I came back and here you are, waiting for me."

"I wasn't waiting for you. I just need a place to rest. I… I was planning to leave before you come back."

"You're avoiding me."

"I don't want to see you."

She tried to get out of the bed, but Fiyero caught her arms.

"Why?" he asked.

"Let go of me, Yero. You're Galinda's boyfriend now. We can't be seen together."

"Elphaba, please. I can explain everything."

"You don't need to."

"But I want to."

She knew that she should leave and that she should not listen to his explanation, but she stopped upon hearing those words.

"I went to look for her that day after our conversation at the library. I thought about our situation, and I thought that there may be a way for Nessa to be more open to me as your boyfriend. She likes Galinda, and if Galinda endorses us, it may slowly change her perception that I am not suitable for you. I guess I was so engrossed in my own problem that I did not notice her mood. She started talking about how good I was as a boyfriend, and I let her continue because … I thought that if I am a good boyfriend in her mind, then she would not object to us being together right? She then asked me if I still care about her. Of course, I do, I still do. And Galinda said then that she finally realised that I was the one for her. I tried to tell her that we have our differences, but she said that she would change for me, that she could change. I tried to tell her about us then, and then suddenly she pulled me to her and …" Elphaba knew what had happened next. She had caught them kissing. And now she knew that Galinda was the one who had wrapped her arms around Fiyero's neck and initiated the kiss.

Elphaba looked away. Galinda had revealed more that night when she was back from their dinner in town. Tim had cheated on her with his ex-girlfriend. Despite his initial denials and her protests, she found out that he had continued to meet up with his ex-girlfriend. When he was confronted, Tim had told Galinda that he realised that he still loved his ex-girlfriend and there was no way he could love two girls at the same time. Galinda had told Elphaba that she knew then that Fiyero was the one for her, because Fiyero would never cheat on her.

"I tried to tell the rest of the gang over dinner that we weren't together, but none of them believed me. They all thought that I was joking. I tried to talk to her the next day. I told her that there was someone else. And she cried. She told me that she was terribly unhappy when she was with Tim, and I am the only one who understands her. She said that …. " Fiyero swallowed. "She said that she cannot live without me. She said that she would change herself, and I will be able to see that we are perfect together. I care about her, Fae. I care about her as a friend, as a sister. And I love you, you know that. But I don't know how to break the news to her without hurting her." He leaned in, and Elphaba let him kiss her. She let him cup her face and deepen his kisses, sending her heart racing. Her fingers went to the back of his neck, clinging onto him as she kissed him back.

She loved him, but Galinda was her best friend.

"Yero," she said when their lips parted. "Do you love me?"

"Of course, I do."

"Will you do anything for me? Anything?"

He nodded his head.

"Then stay with Galinda. She needs you." She was not going to betray Galinda and tell him about her secrets. "You're the only one who can make her happy now. So make her happy."

* * *

"Exams are so terrible!" Galinda declared. "I wish that it will be over soon. And in the meantime, I have to face a moodified boyfriend." She sulked.

Elphaba kept quiet. As requested, Fiyero had not broken up with Galinda, but he was definitely one of the gloomiest, if not the gloomiest boyfriend that Elphaba had ever seen. She wished that he would behave as if he was happy; his gloominess was affecting Galinda, but it was examinations period, and most of the students looked as if doomsday was coming. She told herself that she would speak to him after the examinations about his attitude and how badly it affected Galinda.

"So what are your plans for the holidays, Elphie?"

Elphaba shook her head. "Father is coming down for the awards ceremony," she said, referring to the ceremony conducted a few days after the exams, before the holidays. Both Elphaba and Nessa would be receiving some form of awards due to their academic excellence, but Elphaba knew that Father would be there because of Nessa. "And we will go back to Munchkinland after that." Going back to Munchkinland for the holidays was never one of her preferred options, but she needed to get away from Shiz, away from Fiyero and Galinda. She might be the one who asked Fiyero to be with Galinda, but it still did not mean that she could bear seeing them together.

"I'm trying to get Fiyero to visit the Emerald City with me. Nessa said that it is a beautiful place. I'm sure that it is very romantic too. What do you think?" Galinda gave a dreamy smile.

Elphaba was saved from answering when someone knocked on the door.

"Oh, it must be Fifi," Galinda said as she floated to the door. She opened the door, and Fiyero came in. He was wearing a mask, still down with persistent flu that refused to go away.

"Oh, you poor little thing, how are you feeling today?" Galinda asked, disappointed that she was unable to kiss her boyfriend.

"I'm feeling better. I'm here to look for Elphaba. I need to borrow some of her notes."

He turned to Elphaba, "Hi, I seem to have misplaced some of my History notes. Can you lend me the notes that you took down for the last lesson? I promise that I won't lose it. Wait, I'll copy the essentials here so that the notes will not be out of your sight," he said, compromising so that she could not turn down his request.

Elphaba found her notes easily and passed it to him. It took him less than thirty minutes to copy out the notes, and when he returned them, she found a little note slipped in between the pages.

_Meet me tonight at 11 pm at the Suicide Canal._

* * *

She knew that she should not meet him. After all, what could meeting him at a secluded area at an ungodly hour achieve besides more pain? But the thought that he was outside waiting for her kept her awake. She kept looking at the door as Galinda snored lightly in her bed across the room, wondering how much noise she would make if she slipped out of her bed, put on her shoes and sneaked out of the room, and if it would wake Galinda up. She stared at the ceiling, counting the seconds until she could not stand it any longer.

She got out of the bed, ready with an excuse if she woke up her roommate, but Galinda slept on. Elphaba put on a coat and her boots and left the room.

It was past curfew time, and Elphaba could hear crickets and other insects as she made her way to the Suicide Canal. She did not see anyone, but as she was halfway to the Canal she heard the sound of laughter and footsteps and she hurried on; it seemed that she was not the only one breaking the curfew. By the time she reached the Suicide Canal, her heart was hammering so hard it filled her ears and drowned out everything else.

Elphaba walked along the length of the canal, guided by the crescent moon as the lights were off. A pair of arms wrapped around her from behind as she walked past one of the trees, turning her around.

"Fae," he whispered her name as he cupped her face. Fiyero leaned in and kissed her, his tongue brushing against her lower lip before slipping into her mouth without hesitation. "My Fae."

She let him kiss her until her heart was no longer beating hard. "You're not feeling well." She pulled apart from him.

"Not for you." And her suspicion that he had faked his illness to keep Galinda at a distance was confirmed.

"I missed you so much," he said as he hands slipped under her coat. She let him pull her close to him again, let him kiss her again, knowing that he owned her with just a single touch and it was futile to resist. Her hand went to his chest, gripping the front of his shirt as his lips grazed her jaw and neck. He shifted and pushed her against the tree as he deepened his kiss again, his hands roaming all over her body, hiking up her sleeping gown so that he could touch her bare thighs.

"Fae…" he moaned her name as he traced the curve of her buttocks, his fingers setting her skin on fire. His hands went to her waist again as his breathing slowed down, as he kissed a trail down her neck before he nuzzled his nose against the soft of her neck, taking in her scent.

"Fae," he tightened his grip on her. "I can't do this any longer. I can't pretend that I love her the way she wants me to. I can't pretend that we are just classmates when you are the one who means the world to me."

"But Yero…"

"You can ask me to do anything to prove that I love you, but not this. Do not ask me to pretend that I love someone else when it is you that I want." He pressed his lips against her neck again, sending a shiver down her spine. She turned her face subconsciously and brushed her lips against the corner of his lips, and Fiyero tilted her face so that he could kiss her on her mouth, kiss her as if he was dying and she was the only thing that could save him.

She knew that she should go before things spiralled out of control, but she pulled him down onto the grass, letting his body covered hers as they continued kissing. His fingers danced down the length of her body and her hands went under his shirt, feeling the heat from his skin and feeling his breath on her skin. She wrapped a leg around his hips, feeling the way his hard member pressed against her thigh.

She knew that she was not wet enough, but the desire to have him inside her was too strong.

Her hands went to his crotch, unbuttoning his pants. Even in the darkness, she could feel him staring at her with lust as his hands joined hers in its endeavour. Without a sound, he kicked off his pants, and he parted her legs and pushed aside the fabric of her panties. He lined the tip of his cock against her folds, teasing her.

Elphaba threw her head back at the pain that flooded through her senses as he thrust into her without warning, and for a moment she panicked, wondering if he was too big for her. But her fears were unfounded as her body slowly accommodate to his girth, and she shifted her hips so that he could penetrate deeper, her nails digging into his buttocks. He held onto her hips and grunted as he pumped in and out, and Elphaba had to bite her lower lip to stop herself from making any noise. She relished the pain, the taste of blood on her lips, the way she could feel every single movement that he made inside her, the way he grounded his hips against hers, his weight heavy on her. She knew that she would be sore and bleeding after this, but she did not care. She did not know when they would have the chance to be together again. She did not want it to end.

Fiyero sucked on her neck as his hand went between them, stroking her clit, and her breath hitched. He slowed down, and then picked up pace again, prolonging her pleasure. He leaned against her, and Elphaba could feel him twitching inside her as he tried to catch his breath. He moved again, moving faster and faster. Moments later he shuddered as her name spilled from his lips and he flooded her inside with his liquid heat. He collapsed onto her, spent and exhausted.

"Fae…" He said her name again as he rolled onto his back and reached for her.

"Pants." She gave a word.

He groaned, but he did as she told and stumbled down next to her after that. He pulled her into his arms. He kissed her slowly, tasting the blood on her lips.

"You're bleeding." His thumb went to her lips.

She shook her head and pulled him in for another kiss.

"You're mine tonight, Fiyero Tiggular."

"And tomorrow, and the day after that, the ones after that."

She shook her head as she kissed him again.

"Please, Fae," he muttered in between kisses. "You're killing me with this request of yours."

"But Galinda needs you."

"And I need you. Can't you see?" He cupped her face.

"Tim's betrayal hits her hard. She cannot suffer another setback again."

"And so I must pretend to love her and appease her? I can't."

"Yero…"

"I can't pretend forever, Fae, and the longer this pretence goes on, the more hurt she will be when she finds out."

"But…"

"I can agree to anything you suggest, anything you say. But I cannot pretend to be in love with someone else. It's tearing me apart, and I can see that it's tearing you apart too."

He put a finger on her lips.

"Leave this to me. I'll tell her that it is not working out, that I no longer love her. I'll let her down slowly and gently. If need be," he paused for a moment. "If you're afraid that she'll be mad, I can pretend that we are just classmates for now, but I expect that you make it up to me after that by letting me court you openly in the next semester. There will be flowers and chocolates. There'll be candlelight dinners and some slow dancing. And of course, there will be lots of mind-blowing sex." He smiled.

He reached for her hand, locking their fingers.

"You'll need to have some patience while I sort this out, but I will sort this out. And always remember that I love you."

* * *

The students spoke to one another while the invigilator collected the exam scripts. Fiyero was seated a few rows below Elphaba, and he turned back and smiled at her. They had spent the whole night in each other arms at the Suicide Canal, their lips and hands seeking out different spots in their bodies, and it was dawn when they went back to their respective rooms. Elphaba had only slept an hour after that, but she felt refreshed. She returned his smile.

The invigilator gave the signal that the students could leave, and the students stood up and made their way out of the classroom. Elphaba took her time, letting the other students go first as she slowly packed her bag. She had only half a day of free time left. Nessa would be taking her last paper in the afternoon, and their father would be arriving tomorrow.

As she left the classroom, she realised that the students had not dispersed. Instead, they crowd around the corridor, silently watching as Madame Morrible and a pair of the Shiz campus guards approached the group.

"Fiyero Tiggular?" the school headmistress called out.

Fiyero took a step forward. Madame Morrible gestured with her hand, and one of the guards stepped forward and cuffed Fiyero's hands behind him. The students muttered.

"What's this?" he asked as he struggled against the restraints.

"Fiyero Tiggular,"Madame Morrible folded her arms as she spoke. "You are under arrest for assault."


	9. Chapter 9

"Let me out!" Fiyero shouted as he banged on the gate. "Let me out! I didn't attack anyone!" There was no response from the outside.

He had no idea if there was anyone standing guard outside the door. He had no idea who he was supposed to have assaulted. He had been too shocked when Madame Morrible declared that he was under arrest for assault, too shocked to even ask her who he was supposed to have assaulted. The guards had pushed him with their batons, signalling him to move. When he looked back, all he could see was the equally shocked faces of his fellow classmates, Elphaba among them.

The guards had brought him to one of the empty rooms behind Madame Morrible's office. He had always assumed that those were storerooms, but it was only when he was brought there that he noticed that the internal had been converted to cells, with an additional metal gate and bolt installed for each cell. One of the guards opened one of the cell doors and the other pushed him inside before locking the gate. They then left the room and closed the door behind them, the sound of the key locking the wooden loud.

Fiyero looked around the room. It was bare, without a single piece of furniture. There was no seat, no toilet and not even something small for him to pick the lock. There was no window either and he could feel the room heating up as the sun rose overhead.

"Open the door!" he shouted again.

There was no response.

* * *

"Fiyero? That's impossible," Tibbett said. "If there's any assault, I would expect it to be him being assaulted by his female fans," he added, giving a cautious look to a red-eyed Galinda. "So where is he now?"

Elphaba told them. She had tailed the guards at a distance and had seen them bringing him to Madame Morrible's office.

"I'm going to talk to Madame Morrible," Galinda suddenly spoke up. "It must be a misunderstanding. Fifi will never attack anyone."

Just then, they saw Crope climbing up the slope to where they were, or rather, he was running up the slope. He stopped before his friends as he bent down to catch his breath.

"Guys… I …. I got…bad … bad news…."

"We've already heard about it," Tibbett told him. "About Fiyero's arrest."

Crope shook his head.

"Yes, there's no way he will attack anyone. He's friends with everyone." Galinda leaned against Elphaba and started weeping again.

Crope continued to shake his head. "No… no.." He waved his hand. "It's about … Boq…"

"Boq?"

He nodded his head. "Milla found him this morning … in his room. He was …unconscious. Someone … someone … went to his room and … and… beat him up."

* * *

Fiyero got his first visitor a few hours later.

"You have so many supporters, Mister Tiggular," Madame Morrible said the moment she stepped into the room. Fiyero sat up immediately and went to the gate, his hands gripping hard on the metal.

"Madame Morrible, let me out. I didn't attack anyone. I didn't hurt anyone."

"I have to spend all my time answering their queries before they are willing to go away," she continued as if he had not spoken.

"Madame Morrible, please. I did not attack anybody. There must be a mistake somewhere."

"Are you saying that you are innocent?"

"Of course." He rattled the metal of his cage.

"In that case, I'm sure there is no issue for you to answer a few of my questions."

"Of course."

"Now, where were you between eight last night and eight this morning?"

Fiyero did not need any probing to remember.

"I went to the canteen for dinner."

"Were you with anyone?"

"No, I went alone." He had planned to do some revision in his room for his last paper before meeting Elphaba at the prearranged timing.

"Did you see anyone there?"

"Yes, there were a few students there."

"Where did you go after your dinner?"

"I went back to my room. I have a paper this morning."

"And did you leave your room again?"

Fiyero's heart started to hammer.

"I don't understand the relevance of these questions, Madame," he said.

The schoolmistress looked bored.

"Just answer them. Did you leave your room again that night?"

Of course, he did. He went to the Suicide Canal and met Elphaba. But he knew that he could not tell Madame Morrible the truth.

"No, I stay in my room and study. And then I went to bed."

"So you stayed in your room after dinner until the next morning?"

"Yes."

"What time did you leave your room this morning?"

"Around seven? I had a quick breakfast and went for my exams." He remembered how light his footsteps had felt that morning, the way he could still feel Elphaba resting her head at the crook of his neck.

"Did you meet anyone during breakfast? Did you talk to anyone?"

Fiyero gave a few names. Madame Morrible narrowed her eyes at him, and he wondered if she had somehow caught him lying.

"Is that all?" he tried to put on a smile.

"Did you meet anyone when you went to the canteen for dinner the night before? Did you talk to anyone?"

"Dinner?" He was taken back by the way she had backtracked. He was not really in the mood for talking when he went out for dinner. He had given Elphaba the note, but he had no idea if she would meet him. He remembered greeting a few friends and gave their names.

"So you admit that you talked to Mister Boq?"

"Boq? Yes of course."

"What did you talk about?"

"Nothing much, Madame Morrible." Boq had tried to find out more information about Galinda's breakup with Tim again, which annoyed Fiyero and he had snapped at him.

"Nothing?"

"I can't remember what we talked about. Maybe we talked about the exams or the weather." He did not have to share his relationship problems with Madame Morrible.

She raised her brows. "That's different from what I've heard, Mister Tiggular. A few students had told me that you had a heated argument with Mister Boq at the canteen. And they heard you threatening him. I've also got a reliable witness who said that he saw you going to Boq's dormitory late last night."

"What? Why would I go to Boq's dorm at night?"

Madame Morrible stepped up the cage, leaning in so that her face was inches away from Fiyero's.

"To carry out your threat perhaps, Mister Tiggular? To beat up your friend so badly that he is now in a coma?"

Fiyero staggered backwards, his face turning white.

* * *

It was only two days later that Fiyero was allowed any visitor.

"How's Boq?" "Did you do it?" Both Fiyero and Crope the moment the door was closed.

The boys laughed, but there was no mirth in it.

"Of course, I didn't," Fiyero said after a moment of silence and then looked at Crope and Tibbett for the answer to his question.

The two boys shook their heads.

"He's still unconscious. They have transferred him to the hospital at Shiz."

"How… how bad is it?" He had to know.

"We visited him this morning. The doctors had no idea. Whoever who beat him up was quite vicious."

"He has injuries all over his body, and according to the doctor who was on duty, several broken ribs. His nose is broken too, and there are injuries to his head too," Tibbett told him.

"I didn't do it," Fiyero repeated again, his hands clenching into fists.

The two boys nodded.

"Whoever who beat him up is fast and strong. None of the guys in the dormitory heard anything out of the ordinary that night." Tibbett said, eyeing Fiyero's fists. Fiyero caught the direction of his eyes and then Tibbett looked at him in the eye. "You must be one of the strongest guys in Shiz."

"I didn't …"

"But you're never vicious nor cruel," he added.

Fiyero nodded, grateful for the testimony.

"So how's …" he nearly spoke Elphaba's name aloud. She was always in his mind the past two days. Did she stay awake at night worrying about him? Did she think that he was guilty? "How's Galinda? And Elphaba?"

"Your girlfriend? She doesn't believe a single word that Madame Morrible said, of course. She wanted to come, but we asked her not to. I don't think she stay dry-eyed seeing you like this." Crope pointed at him with his chin.

There was no mirror in the cell, but Fiyero knew that he must have looked terrible; he was still wearing the same clothes that he was wearing when he was arrested and had not showered for two days.

"Things are not looking too good for you, bro," Tibbett added. "There's someone who claimed that he saw you going to Boq's dormitory that night."

"That's what Madame Morrible said too. But I didn't go to his dorm. Not that night," Fiyero insisted. He had gone to the opposite direction, to the Suicide Canal. "Did you know who is that someone?"

The two boys shook their heads.

"We tried to get some information from Madame Morrible but her lips are sealed. Is there anyone who can provide an alibi? Anyone whom you bump into at your own dorm? Any girl that snuck into your room?" Crope tried to lighten the atmosphere.

Fiyero buried his head in his hands. Elphaba was his alibi. He was with her the whole night. But if he told the truth, the whole of Shiz would know of their relationship. Nessa would be mad, and Galinda would think that Elphaba had betrayed her. Elphaba would lose their friendship, and her reputation would be ruined. No, he could not tell the truth.

"Can you ask Elphaba to come here?" he asked.

Crope and Tibett were surprised.

"Elphaba?"

"I… I just want to talk to her … to ask her about Galinda… to ask her to take care of Galinda for me." He hoped that his friends could not see through his lie.

* * *

She came that evening alone. He could feel the smile forming on his face the moment she walked into the room, even though she was not smiling.

Fiyero was glad that the security guards were not nosey. They would bring in his visitors and then close the door behind them. Perhaps they had other work to do or they were slacking, but it did not matter to Fiyero so long as he had his privacy.

She stood away from the cell, clutching her messenger bag, and stood there until the door was closed behind her. It was only then that she stepped up to him and put her hand between the bars and cup his cheek.

"Yero," she spoke his name tenderly. Fiyero took her hand and kissed it.

"I didn't do it."

"I know you didn't," she said. She dug into her bag and took out a set of clothing. "I got this from your room. You'll feel better when you have something clean to wear."

"How's Galinda?"

"She's devastated. She spends the whole day in bed, staring at the ceiling, crying quietly. This is affecting her badly."

"And you?"

She looked away and did not answer his question.

"I didn't do it, Fae. I don't know why anyone would want to frame me."

She nodded. "It could be a coincidence. Perhaps the attacker tried to break into Boq's room to steal something not realising that he'd be in his room. Perhaps the attacker got the wrong person. Perhaps…" she trailed off and shook her head again. She had been going through the different scenarios, trying to figure out the motive of the attack but couldn't.

And there was something else that she wanted to ask him. Something that she could only say if no one else was around.

"Yero, why didn't you tell Madame Morrible that you were with me that night? It will mean that the person who claimed that he saw you going to Boq's dormitory is wrong. Or have you told Madame Morrible and she did not believe you?"

Fiyero's hands went between the bars and pulled her to him, and she wrapped her hands around his shoulders.

"Yero?"

"I love you," he said.

She gave a bad smile. "I love you too, but you are not answering my question."

He took her hand and kissed it again.

"She won't believe me. She has already decided that I am guilty."

"No, she has not."

"Fae, I can't."

"Why?"

"If I were to tell the truth… I can't guarantee that Madame Morrible will not tell a single soul. Words will spread and Galinda will find out that you are the girl that I love and … " Galinda was always the jealous type, and Fiyero had no idea how mad she would be when she realised that her roommate was the girl that he loved; she would consider it a betrayal of their friendship. "I don't want her to hate you. I don't want Nessa to…" He saw the change in her face and he realised that she had not considered all of this.

He tried to smile. "Anyway, I have truth on my side. Boq will wake up and he will identify the attacker and the truth will be revealed. I just need to have patience and wait for a few more days. I will then try to break the news about us to Galinda gently and then we can be together officially." In his mind, he wondered how serious was Boq's injuries and if he would ever wake up, but he kept his fears to himself.

* * *

Madame Morrible was not at her office, and Elphaba searched for her all over the campus. She wanted to talk to the schoolmistress alone, and to tell her the truth about Fiyeros' whereabouts on the night of the attack and to persuade her to keep it a secret. As she scanned the horizon for the woman, she wondered how much time she had left. As the head schoolmistress, Madame Morrible had to report the incident to the Wizard and to await his instructions.

She had covered almost the whole campus when she heard someone calling her name. It was Nessa, and Nanny and Frex were with her.

"Father," Elphaba greeted her father, and barely got a nod in return.

"Fabala, where were you? We were supposed to meet Father an hour ago!"

Elphaba bit her lip. She had forgotten that Frex would be arriving today and they were supposed to meet him on his arrival.

"I'm sorry. I was caught up with other matters."

"And what can be more important than Father coming to Shiz?" Nessa asked. Elphaba could think of more than one answer. "It was Fiyero, wasn't it?"

"Fiyero?" Frex asked. Nanny kept quiet.

"Father, we have the prince of Vinkun studying here in Shiz. His name is Fiyero. Do you remember Boq? He had a quarrel with Boq a few days ago and beat him up. Boq is now in a coma, and we have no idea when he will wake up." Nessa sniffed.

"Fiyero didn't do it!" Elphaba hissed. What she got in return was a slap across her face.

"Elphaba!" Frex barked. "Who are you to shout at your sister?" Elphaba stared back at him, her hand at her cheek which was turning red.

"A Vinkun? I'm not surprised. The people from the west are all uncivilised and barbaric. I'm surprised that Shiz University admits them in the first place."

"Father!"

"Your Excellency! Welcome to Shiz!" It was Madame Morrible. "It is an honour to have you here."

"Madame Morrible…" Elphaba tried to get her attention but the school headmistress ignored her.

"Madame Morrible," Frex greeted her. "I heard that you admitted the barbarians from the west to Shiz. This is preposterous. We all know that those people will never embrace our civilised ways no matter how much we try. And now this barbarian has attacked one of our own."

Madame Morrible bowed. "It is with regard to this matter that I came to look for you. Can we have a discussion in our office?"

"It is a terrible tragedy indeed," Madame Morrible when Frex was settled in her office. "The Wizard is always open to educating the people from the west so that they can progress. He has given notice that we are to welcome them, provided they meet the entry criteria. This person, in particular, is actually the prince of Vinkun. We were given assurance of his intellect and conduct prior to his entrance, but it seems that we have been fooled. As a matter of fact, there is a favour that I would like to ask with regard to this matter."

"What is it?"

"I have just received a reply from the Wizard. The accused is a royalty no matter what, and the Wizard would like the trial to be completed before things get out of control. We have no doubt that the Vinkuns will send an envoy to Shiz and he will be reaching here very soon."

"A wise choice indeed."

Madame Morrible continued. "The trial will be held here in Shiz and I have been tasked to look into the formation of a panel of jurors that is to be made up of esteemed members of the community. The Wizard and the Gale Force will be sending their representatives, and it will be our greatest honour if you agree to sit in the jury. The trial will take place in three days' time and is expected to last 2 days."

"I'll be there to ensure that justice is served," Frex promised.

"We're honoured," Madame Morrible thanked him.

"Are we expecting any problem?"

"No problem. We have a witness who saw the accused stepping into the dormitory where the victim stayed. There is no witness to the actual attack, but I am sure that the testimony is sufficient. There are also several other witnesses who saw the accused and the victim quarrelling earlier that day."

"Are all the witnesses reliable?"

"Absolutely. They are all students of Shiz. As a matter of fact, the witness who saw the accused on his way to the scene was the captain of the soccer team and the son of a Margreave. His integrity is assured."

She did not realise that someone was eavesdropping on their conversation.

* * *

Elphaba had been avoiding Avaric ever since he tried to kiss her, but now she found herself going to his dormitory.

Why must it be Avaric? She hated that guy, hated that he treated her like an object, but now she needed to talk to him.

He opened the door on her second knock.

"Welcome to my humble lodging," he said as if he was expecting her and opened his door wide. "Please come in."

Elphaba stepped into his room and he closed the door.

"To what do I owe this pleasure?"

"You are the main witness for Fiyero's trial."

Avaric tsked. "Witness. Trial. That sounds so criminal. I just happen to see him on his way to beat up Boq, and as a good citizen of Oz, I have to come forward and tell the truth."

"You didn't see him that night. You didn't."

"And who are you to accuse me of lying?"

"I didn't accuse you of something. I am just stating the truth."

"The truth? Do you have any evidence that I am lying? Any evidence that I did not really see him going to Boq's dormitory? Or perhaps you saw him somewhere else, maybe somewhere else like the Suicide Canal. And if so, why didn't you come forward and tell Madame Morrible the truth?" He sneered at her.

Elphaba felt her face turning red. He knew. Somehow he was there when she met Fiyero, and most probably he was hidden there, watching them as they made love on the grass.

Avaric was almost nose-to-nose with her, and he looked down at her blouse which was buttoned up.

"You know, I am always a reasonable man. In fact, I am more man than Fiyero in more ways than one. All I need is a little persuasion and maybe my testimony will not be so damning to him." He cupped her chin, his thumb running across her lower lip. "What do you say, you little tease?" He chuckled.

"You're despicable." That was all Elphaba could say.

"I'm not despicable. I am just someone who knows when to grab an opportunity when it comes along. I'm not unreasonable. You can just walk out of here. Or you can save your friend." He moved to his bed and sat on it, patting the space next to him.

Elphaba knew that she should walk out. She should tell Madame Morrible the truth and Fiyero would be released. Galinda and Nessarose would be mad at her, and Frex would most probably withdraw her from Shiz and she would never get to finish her studies. But Fiyero would be saved. But she remained rooted to the spot.

"What are you waiting for?" he asked. "Take off your clothes."

Elphaba shivered. She would just do it once. Fiyero would be released once Avaric retracted his statement and she would put this behind her. She reached for the buttons, her fingers undoing the buttons one by one with her eyes closed. Avaric whistled when she was done.

He pushed her onto the bed, and she stared at the ceiling as he had his way with her. She tried to tune out the grunts that he made, his hot breaths on her, the way he pawed at her. Her hands remained fisted at her sides when he thrust into her again and again, when he squeezed and sucked on her breasts and tried not to push him away. She counted the number of cracks on the ceiling when he told her how she was the tightest ass he ever had, but she could not help the single tear that fell when he finished inside her and collapsed on top of her.

She got up from the bed the moment he rolled away from her and put on her clothes.

"Hey," Avaric said from where he was. "Don't forget to come back tomorrow. Same time."

"What?" She spun around in surprise.

Avaric smirked at her. "The trial is in three days' time. You don't want me to change my mind tomorrow, do you?"

* * *

The Charmed Circle turned up early on the day of the trial. Galinda had been crying non-stop and her eyes were red-rimmed even with makeup. The room was crowded, filled with friends and curious onlookers. Milla was seated between Pfannee and Shenshen.

The juror was made up of many people. Frex was there, and so was the mayor of Shiz, a captain from the Gale Force and a representative sent by the Wizard. Fiyero was brought in, and the trial began.

Fiyero stood at a corner, and he smiled at his friends.

There was a judge, and he was assisted by Madame Morrible who read out the charges and lined up the witnesses who came in one by one to take the stand, to tell their story about how Fiyero had an argument with Boq just hours before the attack. Some of them mentioned that the argument was over Galinda's recent change of boyfriend, and the blonde gasped when she finally knew the cause of the argument.

It was then the final witness' turn.

Avaric took to the stand. He looked at the crowd, spotted Elphaba and waved at her and she tried to fight a wave of revulsion. She had scrubbed herself so many times after each session, but it seemed that she could feel his hands on her.

"Why is he waving at you?" Crope asked. She did not answer.

Avaric started off by saying that he went to town for dinner and was on his way back to his room when he saw a shadow walked towards the dormitory.

"He was alone, but his face was contorted with rage and he walked as if he had a purpose, as if he had a bone to pick with someone. You know, like this." Avaric squared his shoulders and pretended to walk with his hands clenched.

"Was there anyone with you?"

"No, I was alone."

"Did you have any drink that night?"

"No, I didn't drink that night as my stomach was not feeling well. I was absolutely sober."

"So did you recognise the person?"

Avaric turned to look at Elphaba and winked at her.

"Yes, of course, I did. I recognised him immediately." He raised a hand and pointed at Fiyero. "It was Fiyero whom I saw that night."


	10. Chapter 10

She wanted to kill him. She really did.

"You liar!" She raged at him the moment she saw him, her hands clawed. It was only because Tibbett and Crope were pulling her back that stopped her from attacking him.

Avaric looked at her amusedly.

"Liar? Who are you calling a liar?"

"You!"

"Elphie, calm down," Galinda pulled at her arm.

"What did I lie about, Miss Thropp?" he asked.

"You lied at the stand. You didn't see Fiyero on that night."

"Really?" Avaric cocked his head. "When did I lie that I didn't see your friend that night?" He stepped forward and whispered into her ear. "Was it before or after you spread your legs for me?" He stepped back and sneered.

The words dripped down her spine like ice water.

"We should meet up again soon, Miss Thropp," he said as he walked away.

"What did he say?" Tibbett asked, but Elphaba did not hear him. The boys released their grips on her and she dropped to the ground.

She had never felt so stupid.

* * *

The verdict would be out the next day, and Fiyero was denied visitors until then.

He sat on the cell floor, his food untouched. He had no idea who were the witnesses before the trial and was shocked by the number of people who claimed to have witnessed the 'heated argument' between Boq and him. Yes, he was mad at Boq for asking all those personal questions. He had snapped at him, but he had not threatened to kill him.

And Avaric. He knew that there was bad blood between them. Their paths did not usually cross, but he had approached him recently and warned him to stay away from Elphaba. But that should not be serious enough for the boy to lie on the witness stand. He wished that he was given the chance to question Avaric, to find holes in his statement. Perhaps he really saw someone but decided to lie because he did not want to be seen as an unreliable witness. But did Avaric know the seriousness of the issue, that he could send the wrong person to prison because of his ego? And he had no other alibi except for Elphaba. No one had seen him at the Suicide Canal, or in his room because he had intently avoided everyone that night.

Boq would know, but Boq was still unconscious, and no one had any idea when he would regain consciousness.

Fiyero sat on the ground, his cell silent except for the growl of his stomach. And then suddenly he heard something. At first, he thought that he had imagined it, or that it was the whistling of the wind, until the voice grew louder. He jumped to his feet, looking around, wishing that there was a window in his cell that he could look out of. Even though the words were muffled through the thick walls, but he knew the tune. It was a song about an imaginary place where troubles melted like lemon drops. And he knew that voice. Fiyero went to the wall, pressing his mouth to the wall that faced the outside.

"Elphaba!"

The singing stopped.

"Elphaba!" he shouted her name again.

He heard her voice, heard what he assumed to be his name, but the rest of the sentence was muffled.

The walls were too thick for the words to be clear.

He banged on the wall in frustration. There were so many things that he wanted to tell her, but no matter how hard he tried, it seemed that she could not hear his words on the other side of the wall. They would only see each other tomorrow, and if things were as bad as he thought, it might be the last time that they met.

"Elphaba!"

There was no response on the other side.

Fiyero thought that she had left when he heard the song again. He pressed his ear against the wall and heard her voice rising in the air. He might not be able to hear her articulation, but he could hear the longing in her voice. She sang the first verse, and when her voice trailed off, Fiyero continued with the second verse. They sang the chorus together, his voice an octave lower than her soprano pitch, and Fiyero closed his eyes when the song ended, warm tears streaming down his face.

* * *

The charmed circle, with the exception of Galinda, went to the hospital in the morning, as they had done every day ever since Boq had been hospitalised. Milla had been spending the nights there, keeping watch over Boq, and she muttered her thanks when Shenshen passed her her breakfast.

"How's Boq?" Elphaba yawned as she asked. While Galinda cried herself to sleep every night, Elphaba had not been able to sleep at all. She took a sip from her coffee.

Milla shook her head.

"He'll wake up soon," Crope tried to comfort her. "Maybe today will be the day. Or maybe it'll be tomorrow. He'll wake up and he will laugh at us for being so concerned." Tibbett nodded, but the doubt was on his face as he glanced that the Munchkin with the swollen face and broken nose, his head all bandaged up.

"I'll…. I won't be going today," Milla said softly. "I…" she looked at her friends, trying to seek their understanding. "I don't know what to think. I don't know if I should be wishing for Fiyero to be convicted or not. He's my friend, and Boq's friend no matter what, and I don't want it to be him. But if he is not the one, then it means that the person who did this to Boq is still out there, and I just can't stand it that he will get off scot-free." She clenched her fists.

"I'll stay with you," Pfannee offered.

"Me too," Shenshen said as she sat down next to Milla and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. "We'll stay and we'll kick Boq's ass when he wakes up."

* * *

They had problems in getting a cab on their way back, and the trial had started by the time they reached Shiz. They entered the room just as Madame Morrible started her speech, and the school headmistress gave them a dirty look.

The room was less crowded than the day before. Perhaps the audience were only there the day before to listen to the juicy testimony, or perhaps they had already judged for themselves based on the testimonies and was no longer interested in the outcome. But like many lectures, the only empty seats were at the front, and the circle of friends rushed down to the empty seats before Madame Morrible's face got darker. Fiyero smiled at them, glad for their support.

All the witnesses had gone to the stand the day before, and today was the day that Madame Morrible recapped the whole trial. She spoke without a script, her voice booming and confident, and Elphaba wondered how she felt underneath. The school headmistress had always shown that she disliked the Vinkun, and she did not mince her words. Elphaba hoped that the jury would be smarter than to be swayed by her words. And then she saw her father among them and her heart sank.

The jury members buried their heads together for a last-minute discussion when Madame Morrible finished her speech.

"They'll let him go. There's no way they can judge Fiyero guilty just because he was seen making his way to Boq's dormitory."

The Captain of the Gale Force stood up, a piece of paper in his hands.

"Has the jury decided?" Madame Morrible asked ceremoniously.

"The jury has decided," the Captain replied.

He stepped out to the centre of the room.

"This is a really difficult case. On one hand, we did not have any witness to the attack, and the victim is still unconscious. On the other hand, what we have a vicious attempt on an innocent victim by what someone who considered himself above the law just because he is royalty. In this case, we are glad that we are able to infer from the testimonies of the students who are willing to speak up in the name of the justice, in the name of truth. It is this that lighten our hearts."

"And the verdict?"

"Taking into consideration who the accused is, the jury decided that he will be escorted to Southstairs and detained there at His Ozness' pleasure." He turned to Madame Morrible. "The jury thanked you for your hard work."

The audience all started talking at once. Detaining a member of royalty, even if he was Vinkun royalty, was unheard of, let alone keeping him at Southstairs.

"No… no…" someone muttered, and it was only when Tibett called Elphaba by her name that she realised that she was the one who was saying those words. "No.. no.. they can't do that to him. They can't." She shook her head. By then, many of the audience were staring at her. Perhaps she was naïve, but she had envisioned that the day would end with Fiyero released. The jury would decide that he was innocent, or Boq would suddenly walk into the chamber, totally recovered. Anything but this. He would never survive Southstairs.

Avaric stood up and blew her a kiss.

"Justice," he mouthed.

"You liar!" The emotions that she had been trying to keep in check gushed out, and she tried to climb over her friends in a bid to reach the blond. Tibbett and Crope grabbed her arms, pulling her back.

"Let me go!"

"Elphaba Thropp!" Madame Morrible shouted. She turned at her voice, and suddenly she knew what she should do, what she should have done all along. She shrugged off the boys' grips, ignored Avaric's taunting and rushed down the stairs instead. She ran up to Madame Morrible, tugging at her sleeves.

"Madame, Madame, please listen to me. Avaric lied. He didn't see Fiyero that night at all. Fiyero did not go to Boq's dormitory that night. He didn't attack Boq."

The older woman raised her brows.

"It's the truth, Madame. You got to believe me."

"Mister Tenmeadows swore on the witness stand, Miss Thropp. He can't lie."

"He didn't tell the truth, Madame!" Elphaba raised her voice. "Fiyero didn't go to Boq's dormitory. He was at the Suicide Canal that night. He was there the whole night."

"You're wasting my time, Miss Thropp. The Suicide Canal? What a convenient location, a place where no one will see him."

"I saw him there, Madame. I was there. I can be his witness. He was there the whole night, Madame."

"And what was he doing there the whole night?" Madame Morrible asked.

"We were …", Elphaba took a step back, suddenly aware of the glint in the woman's eyes, suddenly aware of how silent the whole room had become. She did not look around, but she knew that everyone was looking at her. And she could hear Fiyero calling her name softly.

"There's only one thing a slut can do with a boy in the dark." Avaric sniggered. "You know something, Miss Thropp? You really should be pickier with who you sleep with. A murderer?"

She spun around and faced him.

"Fiyero is innocent!"

"You stop calling her names!" Fiyero shouted, struggling with the security guards who were trying hard to restrain him.

"Elphaba!" She turned back in time to see her father in front of her, his hand raised, but was too slow to avoid the backhand that came. She staggered backwards at the impact and crashed against the first row of tables.

"You're shameless!" he growled as his hand went to his waist. The whip that he used to whip his horses was there, and as he unwound the coil, Elphaba remembered the last time when he whipped his horses bloody, simply because they were not fast enough.

She tried to back off, but the tables at her back blocked her way, and as the whip fell, she could only turn her face away. The sound of the whip when it hit the skin was deafening, but Elphaba did not feel the pain. There was an uproar around her, and when she opened her eyes, she saw the pained look on Fiyero's face inches away from her own. He pulled her close to her as Frex raised the whip again, disregarding the pain on his back.

Elphaba heard the sound of footsteps rushing down, friends coming to their rescue, but before they could reach the space, a stranger went up to Frex and grabbed his wrist. Frex tried to pull his hand away but he was not strong enough.

"I don't think violence is required here, Sir," the stranger said, his voice sounding strangely like Fiyero's.

* * *

Elphaba stepped into the hospital. It was still early, outside visiting hours, and she hoped that she would not bump into any of her friends.

But Fiyero was there, waiting for her.

"How are you?" "How's your wound?" They both spoke at the same time.

"I'm fine." "I'm good." They replied at the same time, and they laughed at how funny they sounded.

"Boq told me yesterday that you have been coming in early to visit him," Fiyero explained his presence. "You've been avoiding all of us."

She flushed. She had never thought that she would feel embarrassed, but the thought that now every Shiz student knew that she had slept with Fiyero haunted her. She had no doubt that everyone was gossiping about this. Frex had terminated her enrolment that same afternoon, and she had moved out of Shiz immediately and had avoided all her friends.

"I missed you," he said gently. "So where are you staying now?"

"Somewhere," she said, reluctant to share more. Beside terminating her enrolment, Frex had declared that she had been disowned, that she brought shame to the family. Nessa had refused to talk to her too. Nanny said that both of them would cool down after a while, but Elphaba had her doubts.

"Fae, I spoke to my father. He is willing to take you in as his ward if you are agreeable. He will make sure that you can continue with your education, either in Shiz or elsewhere." Elphaba shook her head. "He likes you," Fiyero added.

"After seeing the way I made a fool of myself?"

Fiyero chuckled. "After seeing the way you stood up for me without regard to your own reputation. He thinks that you are the best girlfriend I ever have."

She shook her head again. "Yero, I can't."

"You don't want to be his ward? That's alright too."

"I can't be with you anymore."

"Why?" She could hear the hurt in his voice.

"Galinda needs you. You are the one for her. You've now been cleared of your crimes, so you should patch up with her. Both of you are perfect together."

He let out a sigh. "I've told you before. It's over between us. You're the one I love now."

"She's my friend, my best friend. I can't hurt her."

"That's right." A voice came from behind her.

The couple turned and saw Galinda stepping into the hospital, a huge bouquet of flowers in her hands.

"Elphie is right. I am her best friend, even though I have not seen her for more than a month." The blonde gave Elphaba a hug before holding her hand.

"She's my best friend too, and I can't hurt her either. And best friends don't fight over the same boy, no matter how scandelicious he is." Galinda pressed her green hand into Fiyero's. "I've seen the way you stand up for him, Elphie. And I've seen the way he came to your rescue without thinking about his own safety. You are perfect together. I'll be the biggest idiot in Oz if I try to stand between both of you."

"Galinda, you're not.." "Thank you, Galinda, for talking some sense into her." Elphaba looked at Fiyero sharply. He smiled back at her.

"I've had my say. It's now up to you to convince her," Galinda said as she went up the stairs to the wards.

"So what kind of additional convincing do you need?" he asked her when the blonde was out of sight.

Elphaba looked away. "We can't be together, Fiyero."

"Why?"

"I can't tell you the reason. But believe me, we cannot be together."

He laughed. "I don't believe you."

"I can't tell. You'll hate me." She was on the verge of tears. She knew that he would hate her once he found out that she had slept with Avaric willingly, that he would hate her for falling for such a simple trick.

"I will never hate you, not even if you break my heart," he said as he pulled her close to him. "It's about Avaric, isn't it?"

She broke away with a gasp. "How did you know?"

"I went to see him after he was arrested," Fiyero explained. "He gloated about it. He admitted that he had seen us at the Suicide Canal and had wanted to retaliate against me for being the one you chose. And then he set his eyes on poor Boq because he knew of the spat that we had at the canteen." Avaric had more than gloated. He had taunted Fiyero, telling him how much she had moaned when he was thrusting into her and how hard she had come. Fiyero did not believe a single word he said.

"You're too trusting," he said as he kissed her on her forehead.

"You're… you're not angry?"

"Angry? Why should I be angry that my girlfriend is willing to sacrifice everything for me? Although I hope that that that will be the first and last time that I need your help." She chuckled softly, and then Fiyero leaned in to kiss her. He pulled her flush against his body as he slipped his tongue into her mouth, and Elphaba's hand went to his hair, tugging him closer. She missed him, and his kisses too.

"Excuse me?" A nurse called out as their kissing turned heated.

The couple broke apart, laughing.

"Let's go and look for Boq."

* * *

Boq was seated on his bed, Milla by his side. When Fiyero and Elphaba entered the room, Galinda took a quick glance at them, and she broke into a smile when she saw the smiles on their face.

"You're late today, Elphie," Boq said, his lips still swollen.

"Sorry, I got caught up with something," she said, and Galinda giggled. "You look much better today."

"Yes, at least the pounding headache is gone." He spoke slowly.

"The doctor said he should be able to take in some solid food today," Milla added.

"That's good news."

"I wish that I can be out of here soon."

"Not so fast," Fiyero warned him. "You need to make sure that you've fully recovered before you can go. This is not just a simple trip and fall."

"I am going to pick up martial skills after this so that I can defend myself next time, and to beat him up." There was no doubt who was the him that Boq was referring to.

"You don't have to worry about that, Boq. I'll handle it for you." Fiyero cracked his knuckles.

"Yero!"

He laughed. "I mean that I will make sure the trial is fair and that he got his just desserts, nothing more." He brushed his thumb against Elphaba's cheek. "I'm not going to let you worry about me again."

"Eh?" Boq asked, his eyes widening at the display of affection.

Fiyero grinned at his friend as he reached for Elphaba's hand and kissed it. Boq's eyes widened even more.

"You and Elphaba?" he asked. "How long?"

"Long enough to know that we're perfect for each other," Fiyero replied as he pulled Elphaba in for another kiss.


End file.
